Far From Home
by ijustkeepwaving
Summary: How on earth did Charlie manage to get off the boat when Hugo abducted her? Enquiring minds want to know! A different take on what could have happened...
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone! Welcome to the new story! Thank you for reading (and hopefully reviewing!) and I really hope you like it. I think it's common knowledge now that I get a little nervous about posting new stuff. But I hope you like it. Drowningnotwaving approached me with the idea ages ago and I have been steadily writing it since. It's set at the beginning of the year. Hugo has abducted Charlie and taken her out on the boat. A lot of the first chapter has been taken specifically from the show (no copyright infringement intended, of course) and then it will go from there, playing out somewhat differently. I hope we never get bored of finding new ways to bring Joey back into the story. And I hope one day the powers that be will also cotton onto the necessity of Joey's return! I hope you like it. Sorry for the ramble! Love, IJKS._

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* * *

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Chapter One

The sun had broken through and chased the night away. Senior Constable Charlie Buckton was still tied up in Hugo Austin's boat. She'd tried to talk to him, tried to find some way to escape but he had a gun and she no longer had hers. She cursed herself for going off alone to the shipping container. The image of what she'd seen there was still burned in her memory and she was sure she was going to die.

"Hugo, whatever it is you're thinking of doing, you don't have to do it," she said when her captor approached.

"I'm sorry Charlie," he said. "But I do."

He reached out and untied her, still keeping the gun trained in her direction. One wrong move and she knew it would be too late. Nobody even knew she was missing. The chances of some kind of rescue operation were unlikely to say the least. No-one was looking for her.

"It's the only way of protecting Martha," Hugo said as Charlie got to her feet. "The only things connecting me to any of this are this phone..."

He tossed it overboard.

"And you."

He pointed the gun more firmly at her.

"I like you, Charlie," he said.

Images of their one night together momentarily flashed through his brain. He'd been after Charlie from the first moment he'd met her but finally giving in to him had been the worst mistake of her life, she'd said. It had cost her the love of her life.

"But I love Martha," he said. "And I'm not putting her in any more danger."

"No, Hugo..." Charlie pleaded, shaking her head.

"Get in the water," he instructed.

"Why?" she demanded.

She had no idea whether she was relieved or distressed at this turn of events. Would drowning be worse than getting shot? Right now, she had no idea.

"So you can swim to that island over there," he said.

She looked behind her. Surely enough, in the distance, she saw an island. It looked so far away. She was a good swimmer but she had no idea if she'd make it that far.

"I'm not going to kill you," Hugo said when she turned back to him. "I'm not that kind of person. Not anymore. But I'm not going to jail either."

"Give yourself up, Hugo," Charlie said, offering one last ditch attempt at saving herself. "I can say that you co-operated and the courts might be lenient."

Hugo shook his head.

"There's still a chance that you could have some sort of life with Martha," Charlie tried.

"No," he replied firmly. "That chance disappeared long before Suzy turned up. There's no turning back."

Charlie swallowed and studied his face and the gun he had aimed at her. There was no way he was going to let her go. She wondered if anyone would ever find her. Nicole had nearly died being trapped on what she thought was the same island after Elliot had attacked her and Geoff. Would she survive it? Would someone come looking? Her only hope really was her boyfriend, Angelo Rosetta but he'd been suspended for punching Hugo. She thought about Ruby. They were building their life together again after the trauma of the last year. And she thought of Joey Collins. Her beautiful image danced before Charlie's mind. All this time she had lived in hope that she might see her again. But if this was the end of the line, Joey would really be gone. Charlie would never have a chance to make it up to her. Feeling sick, she unzipped her boots and stepped out of them.

"This should last you a day," Hugo said, handing her a bottle of water. "When I know I'm safely away, I'll let someone know where you are."

"Hugo, you don't want to do this!" Charlie tried one more time. "Think about it!"

"I've done enough thinking for one night," he said. "So get in... before I change my mind."

Charlie tossed the bottle overboard and hoped it wouldn't sink. She shot him a glare, as if that would solve anything and moved to climb over the side of the boat. He watched her trip and land hard on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

"Nice try, Charlie," he said, still waving the gun in her direction. "Get up! Charlie!"

She continued to lie there with her eyes firmly closed. Annoyed and worried, Hugo stashed the gun in his waistband and bent to check on her. As he went to give her CPR, she grabbed the gun. She'd only had it in her hands for a moment when he'd hit her hard in the face. Dizzy, she struggled to hold onto the gun and he snatched it back off her with ease.

"Very nice try," he said.

Reaching forward, he picked her up and tossed her overboard before hurrying back to the boat controls and speeding away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Joey Collins had finally bought the boat she'd dreamt off. After she'd taken off on a long haul, she'd been involved in an accident where she'd nearly drowned. The compensation from the accident had been sufficiently high that she hadn't had to work for a while. She'd bought a boat and she lived on it very happily, except for the fact that she was desperately lonely. Today was her third attempt at returning to Summer Bay. Returning to Charlie Buckton. She knew it was a big risk. The chances were that Charlie had moved on. She probably had some hunk of a boyfriend and hadn't given Joey a second thought. And while Joey had avoided it for some time now, she knew she had to go back, even if it was just for the sake of closure.

* * *

Charlie could hardly believe that Hugo had actually left her in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a bottle of water. Paddling to keep herself afloat, Charlie looked around desperately.

"No choice, I guess," she sighed, looking in the direction of the island.

There was nowhere else to go but the place that she and her team had once found Geoff and Nicole, way back when deranged Elliot had tried to destroy Roman's life. Charlie's world had been so different then. She'd been attempting to date the ex-SAS officer who had always blown hot and cold with her. Now she was dating Angelo for the second time around and her heart had already been lost to a woman who was long gone. And the man who had helped Charlie destroy the relationship that sent the love of her life away, had now left her for dead in the water. Wedging her water in the waistband of her trousers and hoping she wouldn't lose it, Charlie began to swim.

* * *

Joey kept one hand on the wheel and the other fumbled with the packaging of the sandwiches she'd made for herself. The sun was shining and the breeze was wafting the smell of the waves towards her. All in all, if she wasn't so scared of where she was going, she thought it was a glorious day. Keeping watch ahead of her and torn between trying and not trying to picture Charlie's face, she ate her lunch, wondering what lay ahead of her this time around.

* * *

Charlie was exhausted by the time she washed up on the shore of the sandy beach. She was grateful to have retained her water and thanked God for small mercies. She collapsed on the sand and rolled onto her back. Sand clung to her wet body and entangled itself in her hair. Closing her eyes against the burning sun, she wondered what she would do now that she was here. Would Hugo honour his promise and tell someone where she was? Would Angelo or Watson come and rescue her? Would she survive however long a rescue mission might take? Nicole had been in ever such a sorry state that time. She'd nearly died. It was Geoff who had saved her. But Charlie was all alone. Nobody was here to protect her. As usual, she had to fend for herself.

* * *

Joey continued heading for Summer Bay. She was getting near and her heart was starting to race at the thought of being near Charlie again. That is, if she got near her. Maybe Charlie would take one look and her and send her packing. It had been almost a year since they'd first met. The anniversary of what Robbo had done to her was coming up. It made Joey sick to think about it. But her heart soared a little when she remembered everything she and Charlie had shared. Once upon a time, the only good thing she could console herself with over Robbo was that in the process, she had met the love of her life. But Charlie hadn't wanted to keep her. She'd let her down and let her go. It was terrifying to be coming back to face her demons. How much would have changed? How much would have stayed the same? Would Charlie even be there? Or would the hunky boyfriend Joey had firmly imagined, whisked her away to somewhere new? Did Charlie care about her still? Had she cared about her at all? What would either of them say to each other?

* * *

Charlie woke up sunburnt. She hadn't meant to fall asleep and now she was regretting it terribly. She touched her face. It was hot and tight. She hurt all over. Hauling herself up into a sitting position, she reached for a bottle of water. It was empty and the plastic was warm.

"What?" she almost cried.

Peering at the bottle, she saw the smallest of cracks in the side. Distraught, she scrunched the bottle in her hand and threw it out to sea. She watched it bobbing along the surface of the waves, mocking her. Pulling herself up to a standing position, Charlie cursed herself for making so many errors since she'd got here, although at least her clothes were a little dryer.

"That's just you all over, Charlie," she said to herself bitterly. "Always making mistakes."

She trudged across the sand, trying to ignore the horrible headache that had formed behind her eyes. There was nothing in front of her but vast open sand. There was no shelter, no drinkable water and no food. Looking around, Charlie searched desperately for some small sign of hope. She hated Hugo for leaving her here to die and she hoped that soon, someone would miss her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Charlie and Joey will find each soon, I promise! I hope you enjoy them getting there... For now, poor Charlie is dealing with a hell of a ot of sunstroke, burns and dehydration. And still that's better than her current relationship with Angelo! Love, IJKS (IJKW). xxx_

**Chapter Three**

Joey continued on her journey. Up ahead, she saw the vague outline of an island she had come to know fairly well in recent weeks. It marked the point at which she panicked and turned back.

"I'm not stopping this time," she told herself, hoping that saying the words aloud would make them true.

She took a deep breath and focused on the horizon she was heading towards, hoping that she could forget there was a stopping point which gave her time to rest and think and turn back.

"I'm not stopping," she repeated. "I'm going right to Summer Bay. There's no turning back now."

She just wished the island wasn't a couple of hours away. She could barely see it yet but she knew it was there. And she was terribly afraid that she would have lost her resolve by the time she attempted to sail past it.

* * *

Charlie felt awful. She was sunburned and her head felt dizzy and confused. She struggled across the sand, wanting nothing more to collapse and sleep. But she couldn't. She had to look for some kind of shelter. Squinting, she looked around in desperation. There was nothing before her but sand and a few rocks. Sinking onto her knees she felt sadness overwhelm her.

"I'm going to die here," she realised.

She sat down on the sand and hid her face in her hands. She pictured her funeral – if anyone actually ever came to find her – and she wondered what would be a said about a woman who'd lived a life of regrets. She and Ruby were just starting to heal their broken relationship. It broke her heart to think that she might never get to be the mother she'd always wanted to be to her. And then there was Joey. She'd made so many mistakes from start to finish with that beautiful, wonderful woman. She'd lost her and broken her and now she would never get the chance to make things right. Angelo would be the grieving partner. And Joey would never know how loved she was.

* * *

Joey continued to think about what life would be like for her when she arrived back in the Bay. She wondered how Aden was. Had he got things back on track with Belle? She liked to think of them back together. She knew how much he loved her. Joey smiled, hoping they were happy. She'd been in touch on and off with Brett. The last time she'd spoken to him, he was being charged for dangerous driving. She didn't know how it had turned out. Apparently he'd hit someone with his car. And for some reason he'd kept blaming her. Of course, that was typical of her brother. Everything was her fault. It always had been. Joey pictured Ruby and Leah and VJ, wondering what they were doing now. Was Ruby enjoying school? How was Xavier? Was Leah having a good time running the Diner? Had she met anyone new? Had VJ found a new friend to play cards with? She sighed heavily as her mind drifted back to Charlie. She felt foolish for still thinking about her all the time, for actually daring to come home again and see her. She was under no illusion that her ex-girlfriend was single and pining for her. While she didn't think she'd ever forget the look of devastation on Charlie's face as they parted, she assumed that in a lot of ways it had been a relief. If Joey wasn't around, Charlie didn't have to deal with the horrific notion that she was bisexual. She could hide away and call their relationship a phase or however she wished to describe it. She could forget her. Joey was sure she had.

"Then what the hell am I going back for?" she asked herself.

* * *

"Charlie, for goodness sake," the cop snapped at herself. "They didn't make six series of _Lost _about stranded people crying all the time, did they? Did Robinson Crusoe sit and weep? Did Geoff and Nicole give up, for crying out loud? They were just teenagers and the others... well, they're not real. You're a cop. You can save yourself. You need shelter."

Taking a deep breath and struggling with movement, she scrawled a help message in the sand before she attempted to wobble away.

"You also need to stop talking to yourself," Charlie added. "Or else you're going to turn into Tom Hanks. And at least he had a damn football to amuse him."

She sighed.

"Why am I still talking? 'Cause I'm frickin' crazy, that's why!"

She stood up, feeling wobbly and dusted herself off. On shaky legs, she approached the rocks, hoping there might be somewhere to hide.

* * *

Joey stared ahead of her. The island was getting closer and she was beginning to think more and more that this whole plan was a terrible one. Why was she going back to Summer Bay, a place that had caused her so much pain? She must be a glutton for punishment to want to go and have her heart broken again. And she had no doubt that Charlie would break her heart. She could picture her skipping into the sunset with some guy.

"What if it's Hugo?" she wondered, pulling a face.

The idea horrified her and she nearly turned the boat around there and then. Her heart would be shattered into a thousand pieces if she found them together. Charlie had sworn she didn't love him. But then, she'd sworn she did love Joey and she'd cheated on her anyway. And Joey had wondered about Charlie and Hugo from the start. Back when she'd had no idea that Charlie was attracted to her, Charlie had chased Hugo off when she'd found him hitting on Joey. She'd assumed that Charlie was jealous because she liked him but once they'd actually got together, she'd admitted that she had hated the idea of someone trying to be with 'my Joey'. She smiled at the thought of Charlie so possessive and loving and recalled Charlie's confession that when she'd gone on a date with Hugo in order to try and forget about Joey, all she'd done was twitter away about her. That had made Joey feel very special. But it made her feel all the more sad over what had happened and the love they had lost.

* * *

Charlie sat under the shelter of the rocks. There wasn't much space in their shadow but the coolness of the shade instead of the burning sun on her terribly sore skin was refreshing to say the least. She touched her face.

"I'm going to look like a lobster for weeks," she concluded unhappily. "If I live that long. What happens to a corpse that's sunburned?"

She clenched her fists in resolution.

"Stop thinking about corpses," she instructed herself. "And shut up!"

Sighing heavily, she wondered if there was a way to stay sheltered but still look out for help. Even if someone came looking for her, they might not find her hiding here. Looking around, she wondered if there might be something that she could use to signal for help. But the island so far as she could see, was derelict. And she didn't have the energy to go out looking for something less obvious. She winced as her clothes scratched at the edges of her sunburn. Closing her eyes, she tried not to feel hopeless. Who was ever going to find her here? How would she ever be saved? She thought once more of Ruby and Joey, wishing that she had one last chance to tell them that she loved them. With some difficulty, she began to get up. Her body hurt, she was exhausted and she thought she had sun stroke. Something was making her woozy anyway. She felt entirely incapable of looking after herself. On her feet, her head swam. She reached out to steady herself on the rocks and missed. Stumbling forward, she hit her head. Then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

_Here is your final update until I get back home from my holiday. Leaving first thing tomorrow morning. I hope you enjoy it and I shall return with the next instalment of Interwoven on 20__th__ or 21__st__. Love from the IJKS part of IJKW! xxx_

**Chapter Four**

Joey told herself off when she arrived at the island, secured the boat and jumped off onto the sand. This was about as far as she'd always got on her attempted trips back to Summer Bay and it was here that she always felt furthest from home. She usually sat around for a while and then went in the opposite direction.

"I'm just clearing my head," she said to herself, the same way she did every time.

The thought of Charlie having hooked up with someone new, and specifically Hugo, had left a bad taste in her mouth and she was seriously wondering if she could put herself through it. Her life hadn't exactly been full to the brim with excitement and love since she'd left Summer Bay behind but she'd done okay for herself. She was happy. Except for the part where she knew something was missing. And that something was Charlie. Even if it was just to say a final goodbye, she wanted to see her again. Nothing had been resolved between them when she'd left and more than once, she had wondered if she had been too hasty in walking away. She'd always had a fight or flight instinct and the latter had taken over in that instance. Sighing, she trudged up the beach and was about to sink onto the sand to gather her thoughts when she noticed 'HELP' scrawled across a small part of the beach. Furrowing her brow, she looked around.

"Hello?" she called.

Silence.

"Hello?" she called again. "Is anybody here?"

She walked around the help sign in order to investigate and stopped when she saw a smaller message written in the sand. She sank to her knees in bewilderment. The message said:

'RUBBY AND JOY, I LOV YOU'.

Standing up again she called out more 'hellos' but nobody seemed to be around. Deciding that whoever was in trouble had probably headed for shelter, which was limited, she headed over to the rocks on her right in order to investigate. Seeing someone lying face down on the ground, Joey rushed over to them. She turned the limp body over and her breath caught in her throat when she recognised Charlie lying before her.

"Charlie?" she said almost inaudibly.

Worriedly, Joey checked her pulse. Charlie winced at the pain of being touched on her sunburned skin. She moaned and began to open her eyes. Uncertainly, she focussed on Joey's panicked face.

"Am I dead?" she asked.

* * *

Hugo stuffed everything he could find in his bag. He took one last look around the place he had called home since his cousin Jack was murdered. His heart throbbed at the thought of never seeing Martha again and he hoped that she would be alright. His mind flashed back to Charlie and he felt a little guilty. Had she managed to swim to safety? Was she alright? Hurrying to the phone, he picked up a sheet of paper from Martha's phone pad and grabbed a pen.

_Charlie on i_

He stopped when the door opened and froze when he saw Angelo standing there. Hugo swallowed, wondering what he ought to do. Angelo's eyes burned into his.

"What's going on? Why are you letting yourself in here?" Hugo asked.

"You're asking _me _what's going on?" Angelo asked in disbelief. "You nearly just got us both killed, getting caught up in your mess."

"Us both?" Hugo wondered.

His mind flitted to Martha. Was she okay? Angelo continued to glare. Hugo looked helplessly at him, as if frozen to the spot. Without another word, he broke into a run, back through to house and towards the back door. He ignored the voice that called out to him. Desperate to be the hero and bring down an evil man any way possible, Angelo pulled out his gun and fired.

* * *

"No, sweetheart," Joey said gently. "You're not dead. You're concussed and seriously burnt but it's okay. I have a boat. I can help you."

Charlie struggled to focus, which frustrated her. The most beautiful woman she'd ever seen in her life was leaning over her and she could barely see properly.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Joey said breathlessly. "I'm going to radio for help. Someone will come and you can get to the hospital."

She moved away but turned back when Charlie cried out for her not to leave her. Tears filled the corners of Charlie's eyes.

"I'll be one minute, okay?" Joey almost pleaded.

She gently reached out and stroked her hair, careful not to touch her skin.

"Please don't leave me," Charlie begged. "I'm scared."

Chewing her lip, Joey looked around and wondered what on earth to do. She needed to get to the boat. Charlie couldn't stay here like this for much longer. Her skin was bright red, her forehead was bleeding and she didn't seem entirely with it. Her eyes were unfocussed and it looked as if she didn't really understand where or who they were. Pulling a tissue out of her pocket, one that was a little damp with some of her tears earlier in the journey and pressed it to Charlie's forehead. Charlie burst into tears and complained that it hurt.

"I know, darling," Joey said tenderly. "But you're cut. I need to stem the bleeding, okay?"

Charlie fell silent and continued to try and focus.

"Can you sit?" Joey asked, all the while frustrated that by now, if Charlie would let her go, help could already be on the way.

But she understood that her ex-girlfriend was afraid and confused and really, all she had was compassion for her. Charlie didn't know the answer so she remained silent. Joey leant forward and gently lifted her into a sitting position, careful not to touch her lobster red skin. Charlie's head swam and she promptly threw up. Then she burst into tears and apologised.

"It's okay," Joey said, trying not to pull a face. "It's fine. We'll just take it slowly, okay?"

* * *

"Hugo!" Martha screamed, charging frantically into the house.

He stumbled to the ground face first. She leapt across the room to his side. Shaking, Angelo dropped the gun. Memories of Jack's death flashed through his mind and he felt sick. Martha's crying invaded his brain and he covered his ears in desperation.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to do something?" Martha screamed at him.

"I..."

"Phone for help!" Martha screamed.

She turned back to Hugo who lay weak and wounded in her arms. Blood spilled from his mouth and she couldn't tell whether the gaping wound in his body was coming from his back or his chest. Angelo lurched towards the phone and called for an ambulance. As he was giving the details, he noticed a scrawl of a note on a piece of paper. It had Charlie's name on it.

* * *

Joey had just about got Charlie to her feet. She put Charlie's arm around her shoulder and jumped in fright when Charlie screamed in pain.

"You're hurting me!" she cried. "Why are you hurting me?"

"Charlie, this is all I can do," Joey protested. "I have to get you to the boat and you're so burnt..."

"It hurts," Charlie whimpered.

More tears fell and Joey didn't feel far behind her. The image of the woman she loved so much in so much pain, tore at her heart.

"I must have gone to hell," Charlie murmured.

"You're not in hell, sweetheart," Joey said gently. "But you do need to rest on me and put one foot in front of the other, okay? You need to walk."

"If I'm in hell then why are you here?" Charlie wondered, barely paying attention to her but managing to walk slowly across the sand. "You wouldn't be in hell. Seeing you again would be heaven. Unless that's why you're hurting me. Is that why you're hurting me?"

"I'm not trying to hurt you," Joey said, as they walked. "It's just because you're burnt. As soon as we get to the boat, we can get to a hospital. I'll take care of you, Charlie. I love you."

The words slipped out without permission but she focussed on their footsteps. Suddenly Charlie stumbled and they fell to the ground in a heap. Charlie screamed.

* * *

Angelo stared at the note, picking it up for closer examination. He hurried to Hugo's side and told Martha that an ambulance was on the way. Hugo was barely conscious. The life was draining from him.

"Hugo, did you write this?" Angelo asked, waving the note at him. "Where's Charlie? Is she okay?"

"You just shot him!" Martha snapped. "You shot him and now you're trying to interview him? Are you insane?"

"Charlie could be..."

"Right now, I don't give a damn about Charlie!" Martha snapped. "Right now, all I care about is the fact that you just shot the second man I've loved!"

From the floor, Hugo gazed up at her until his eyes could see no more.

* * *

Joey struggled to scramble away from Charlie who had continued to scream. Her skin was beginning to blister and Joey could only imagine how painful it was. Leaning over her, she tried to calm her down, saying her name over and over again. She reached out to stroke her face but pulled back when she realised it would only hurt her more. It pained her not to be able to offer any kind of comfort. Charlie continued to sob. Joey broke into a run back to her boat. Jumping on board, she hurried to the radio. It was unresponsive. Pushing every button she could think of, she babbled frantically into the receiver and cursed herself for not getting the dodgy contraption looked at before she'd set out. Leaping off the boat, she hurried back to Charlie who was quietly weeping.

"Charlie, I need to get you back to the boat," Joey said softly. "Is that okay? Can you get up? I'll help you."

"You'll hurt me," Charlie said weakly.

"It is going to hurt," Joey admitted. "But as soon as we get to the boat, you can sit down and relax. I'll give you some cream for the burns and I'll get us to Summer Bay as soon as possible, alright? I'll get you to a hospital and then I swear you'll feel better."

"I love you," Charlie said.

She reached out with a wobbly hand to stroke Joey's hair. It hurt her sore skin but she felt it was worth it.

"I never thought I'd get to see you again," she said. "I never deserved to. And I know you're not really here... I know it's all over now and I can't ever see you for real but I love you so much. I've missed you. I wish I could turn the clock back and make things right for us."

Joey chewed her lip and thought her heart might break.

"Charlie," she said. "My beautiful Charlie... I am here. I'm real. And you've got all the time in the world to make things right if you want to. But you have to get on the boat first."

Charlie winced as Joey helped her to her feet and supported her in walking.

"Is the boat taking me to hell?" Charlie asked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Martha sat, feeling like she had been broken into pieces as she watched Hugo's body being taken away. Watson and a colleague had shown up to take over the case and remind Angelo that he was already suspended from duty. Frantic, he knew it didn't look good. He could easily be up on another murder charge, especially as the reason he was suspended was because he'd punched Hugo the week before. _So much for redeeming myself, _he thought bitterly. Anxiously, he turned to Watson and showed her the note that Hugo had left about Charlie. Immediately worried, Watson took it and said she would bring it back to the station and try to find her. She headed for the door. Angelo chased after her, saying that he wanted to help.

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Watson asked.

"You have no idea who Hugo Austin is or what he's capable of. He was about to run. I had to do something."

"You couldn't have shot him in the leg or something?" Watson asked. "Did you have to shoot to kill?"

"It's not what I meant to do," Angelo said.

Watson sighed and shrugged and headed to her patrol car. Martha wound her way over to Angelo, her head full of confusion. What had Hugo done? Why had Angelo shot him?

"Did you mean to kill him?" she asked tearfully.

"Of course I didn't," he lied. "He was threatening me. I had no choice. I only meant to disarm him and he just..."

Angelo sighed heavily.

"I know you don't want to hear it, Martha, but Hugo was not a good man."

"Tell me what he was mixed up in," Martha demanded.

* * *

Joey had taken Charlie into her bedroom. Lying her on the cool, crisp sheets provided some kind of relief for her wounds. Hurrying into her little bathroom, Joey rummaged around and found the remnants of a bottle of after sun. Grabbing it, she headed back into the bedroom. Charlie was barely conscious. Between the sunburn, sunstroke, concussion, dehydration and the sheer exhaustion of what she had been through, it seemed like her whole body was beginning to shut down. Leaning over her, Joey felt compassion hit her in waves.

"I've got to put some after sun on you, okay?" she said gently.

Charlie merely moaned.

"It's not going to be very comfortable but it'll help a little. And I'll get you some water."

Charlie moaned again. With slightly trembling hands, Joey gently began to try and rehydrate Charlie's skin. She rubbed the lotion into her beautiful face and along her arms and tried to ignore the fact that Charlie was starting to cry softly. She took each leg in turn and gently rubbed the lotion onto her sore skin. When she was done, she hurried into the kitchen in order to get a couple of bottles of water. She sat beside Charlie on the bed and lifted her head so she was gently resting in Joey's lap. Opening the bottle, she pressed it to Charlie's lips. Charlie protested, struggled and a fair amount of water rolled down her cheek and neck but she just about got the hang of drinking. When they were done, aware that she needed to get Charlie to a hospital quickly, she told her to stay where she was while Joey drove the boat to shore.

"Don't leave me," Charlie begged. "I don't want to die alone."

Joey chewed her lip and knelt by Charlie's side.

"You're not going to die," she said.

"Am I already dead?"

"No," Joey told her. "Honestly, Charlie, I just need to get the boat back to Summer Bay and everything will be okay. I'll take care of you."

"But you're leaving me."

"Not for long. The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll come back. I need to get you to the hospital."

Charlie whimpered. She reached out with trembling hands and cupped Joey's face.

"I know it's too late," she said softly. "But I wish you knew I loved you. I wish I hadn't hurt you. I wish you could have loved me."

"I do love you," Joey said sincerely. "And we'll be okay. I just need to get you some help first, alright?"

"I wish I could have been better for you," Charlie said, as if she hadn't heard her. "Maybe if I'd survived this, I could have found a way but I guess it's too late now."

More tears trickled from the corners of Charlie's eyes. Joey pressed her lips ever so gently onto her forehead and dashed upstairs in order to get going.

* * *

Martha's desperation grew as Angelo explained everything about the human trafficking that Hugo had been involved with. She knew he'd been up to no good but even she couldn't have imagined this. How could she have been in love with someone like that? What would Jack have been thinking up there, where she hoped he was watching over her? She'd thought that he'd be happy that Martha had found love with his cousin, a person he had adored. But it turned out that he wasn't a good man. He was capable of evil things. Staring at Angelo now, she wasn't even sure how she felt about the fact that he'd shot and killed him.

"I'm sorry I had to shoot," Angelo said, never breaking eye contact. "But I had to stop him. Who knows what he would have done, Martha? He's out of control. He's a killer without a conscience. And now... now I don't know what he did to Charlie."

Martha chewed her lip.

"What did the note say?" she asked.

"Charlie on I," Angelo said. "Do you have any idea what that means?"

Martha shook her head.

"She's on... on..."

Angelo sighed and sank down beside her.

"Charlie on Internet?" Martha wondered.

Angelo spied the computer on the desk behind him. He opened Internet Explorer for some kind of clue. There was nothing.

* * *

Joey stopped when she heard Charlie crying below deck. Growling in frustration at being held up but not wanting her ex-girlfriend to be in pain, she headed back down to see her. She rushed forward when she found Charlie on the floor in tears.

"Charlie," Joey said gently.

Charlie struggled to focus but gazed somewhere past her, still tearful.

"You were gone," she said. "I tried to find you and I... I hurt, Joey."

Joey gently stroked her hair.

"I know, darling," she said. "I know. But I'm doing everything I can to make it better."

"Can I come up with you?" Charlie asked.

"You'll burn."

"I know," Charlie said. "I know I'm going to burn but before I go there, can I spend time with you? Before you're gone?"

Utterly confused, Joey helped her sit up. She gazed into her eyes.

"Go where?" she asked.

"Hell," Charlie said sadly.

"Sweetheart, you're not going to hell. You're not dead. You just hurt. I'm taking you home."

"To you?"

"To Summer Bay," Joey told her. "To the hospital. And tomorrow, all of this will seem like a bad dream."

"Will you be gone?" Charlie asked.

"I'll stick around as long as you need me to," Joey promised.

"Can I please come with you?"

Sighing, Joey nodded. She grabbed a spare sheet from the drawer with her and then took Charlie's hand. The older woman winced as they made their way upstairs, out on deck and into the little control room. Joey settled Charlie down on the floor in the corner with the sheet. She tucked her in and frowned over her whimpers before starting their journey again.

* * *

Pacing Martha's living room, Angelo ran through the whole case, trying to piece it together in his mind. He'd tried calling Charlie but got no answer. He'd tried Ruby too but she hadn't picked up. _Charlie on I... _What did that mean? Where was she? Was she okay? If it was the last thing he did, he was determined to find her, to be her hero.

"The island," he suddenly said.

"What?" Martha asked.

He turned to her with wide eyes.

"He dumped her on the island. That's the only word that makes sense."

Martha stood up.

"How did you even think of that?" she asked.

"When Nicole and Geoff were stranded on the island, they were scared to death by one of Hugo's colleagues."

He was about to hurry to his car when his phone rang.

"Charlie?" he said, not looking at the caller ID.

"It's Ruby," came the voice on the other end of the line. "Is Charlie okay?"

"She's missing."

"What? She left the party and went to work," Ruby said. "Angelo..."

"I'll find her," Angelo promised.

He hung up and headed for the door. Martha hurried after him.

* * *

Ruby hung up, stunned and confused. Sitting in the lounge with Geoff, she looked at her boyfriend helplessly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I think something's happened to Charlie," she said weakly.

She sank onto the sofa and explained the marginal pieces of information she had. Suddenly whether Charlie was her mother or her sister didn't matter. All that mattered that she was there, alive and well.

* * *

At the station, Watson didn't know where to start. Off duty but obviously still chasing leads, Angelo had shot and killed Hugo Austin. Charlie had apparently gone of to some shipping container, chasing some numbers in order to bring this people smuggling group down. She and the rest of the team had only been briefed on it a couple of days ago. Until that point, it had been a secret. Now, she'd sent officers off chasing after Charlie, had others fielding calls from people who had somehow got caught up in the mess and wanted to know what was going on and she didn't know where to turn next. The phone rang. An officer answered and called her over.

"Watson, it's Ruby Buckton, Charlie's daughter," he said. "What am I meant to say?"

* * *

Joey could see land in sight and it made her heart soar. When she'd left this morning, she'd assumed that she would envision Summer Bay with trepidation and anxiety. Now she was just met with relief.

"Hey, Charlie, wake up," she said gently. "We're nearly here."

"I don't want to go," Charlie whimpered quietly.

She was still sure she was being delivered to the devil. Joey's heart broke for her, wishing she could make things better. Joey aimed for the wharf, although she had no real clue what she was going to do when she got there. She could hardly carry Charlie all the way to the hospital. Spotting a police boat coming towards her, Joey leapt up to wave and try to flag them down. Charlie studied her in sheer confusion as she tried to get the boat's attention. It sped on past.

* * *

"Angelo, that was someone calling for help," Martha said.

But the police officer's jaw was set and he wasn't prepared to stop speeding across the water in search of Charlie for anyone.

"It's not my problem," he said firmly. "I have to find Charlie and she must be on that island."

"Or she was on the boat," Martha remarked, sitting down.

He glanced at her, wondering if he had just made a mistake. But his pride overruled his worry and he kept going. Neither he, nor Martha noticed that the boat they'd ignored was called 'Charlie'.

* * *

Frustrated, Joey returned to the wheel and headed for the docks, heart racing in her chest and determined to make a complaint about being ignored by the cops when she needed help. Or, more specifically, when Charlie needed help. She looked down at Charlie who was still cowering tearfully.

"We're nearly there, sweetheart," she promised. "You're nearly safe."

* * *

Ruby sank onto the sofa in defeat. Charlie was missing but the police were apparently on the case. Heavy hearted, she stared ahead of her, as if unseeing. Geoff put his arm around her, wondering what was wrong. She didn't speak. He continued to hold her. Both of them felt utterly helpless.

* * *

Nicole and Aden had spent the night in the cells. They'd managed to hire a car to get them back home and hadn't mentioned that they had been caught stealing a car. It had been an interesting evening, to say the least. They'd kissed. Aden had never believed he would or could kiss anyone again now that Belle was gone but he'd kissed Nicole and it had been nice. He'd enjoyed it and he hadn't felt in the least bit guilty. It was a shock to say the least, although they hadn't talked about it since. Now, they were on their way home, back to reality and were steeling themselves to face life.

* * *

With the boat secure, Joey turned to gather Charlie into her arms and help her off the boat. Charlie was beyond protesting about pain now. Every part of her body hurt and her head was swimming but all she could think about was saying goodbye to Joey. Tears streaked her face.

"Please, don't make me go," she said. "I'm not ready. I have to tell you I love you."

"Tell me now," Joey said softly, holding her hands.

"But it's not real."

"It is real. I'm here and I love you, Charlie. I swear, nothing bad is going to happen to you now. You have my word."

Charlie stared at her, hoping she was telling the truth. She tentatively reached up and touched Joey's tanned face, almost afraid that if she touched her, she might disappear. She didn't. She felt solid and safe under Charlie's palm. It was comforting.

"Everything's going to be alright," Joey promised.

Charlie traced her lips, longingly.

"Let's get you to the hospital," Joey said.

Charlie nodded, hoping she was telling the truth. Joey gathered her gently into her arms and they headed off the boat together, albeit, a little clumsily.

* * *

Aden and Nicole passed the sign welcoming them to Summer Bay. The car was silent as neither quite knew what to say to each other. There were so many words that needed to be spoken but neither had the nerve to start talking.

"Aden!" Nicole screeched.

He slammed on the breaks as he saw a dark haired girl standing at the side of the road, desperately waving her arms. Jumping out the car, Aden hurried towards her and was startled to realise it was Joey.

"Jo!" he said. "What's going on?"

"It's Charlie," Joey said.

Nicole followed the duo as they raced back to the wharf. Charlie was red raw and struggling on the floor.

"What the hell happened?" Aden asked, crashing to his knees to check on her.

"Long story," Joey said. "We need to get her to the hospital."


	6. Chapter 6

_Here is your latest IJKW offering. DnW came up with the story idea, IJKS writes it and they edit it together. We hope you enjoy it! Love, IJKW_

**Chapter Six**

Charlie didn't have any idea where she was. She didn't even know if she was on earth anymore. Her head was spinning out of control and the more she tried to focus, the worse it got. Her skin was burning. She felt like she was standing very close to a fire. Except she was lying down. And she had the vague notion of movement. She could hear voices but they felt so far away and she felt afraid. She struggled to keep Joey in her sight, or whatever kind of apparition she might be. She felt like she was good. She felt like she wanted to help her. But she was also engulfed in the fear that she was being taken somewhere bad and that her Joey would not follow. She closed her eyes, trying to focus again.

* * *

"Fuck," Angelo muttered.

He and Martha jumped out of the boat at the island they believed Charlie to be on. There was nothing there but a garbled message in the sand, asking for help and telling 'Rubby' and 'Joy' that she loved them. Swallowing, Angelo could only deduce that if Charlie had been here and left that message, she was talking to Ruby and Joey. It made him feel sick with bitterness. If she thought she wasn't going to survive, where was his message? Didn't she love him too? Martha charged past him just as he angrily scrubbed out any trace of Ruby and Joey's names and called Charlie's name. She paused when she saw multiple footprints in the sand.

"I don't think she's here anymore," Martha said. "Maybe someone rescued her."

"Who would know she was here except one of Hugo's colleagues?" Angelo snapped.

Martha frowned and chewed her lip. Thinking about Hugo made her head and heart hurt. It was too much. Focussing on Charlie not ending up in the morgue beside the man who had dragged her to the island, distracted her. She wanted to help.

"Maybe she was on that boat," she said. "The one calling for help."

Angelo shoved his hands in his pockets, wondering where his girlfriend was and if she was okay.

* * *

"Is she still breathing?" Nicole asked worriedly.

Nobody really knew what was going on with Charlie. It felt so strange to see the big, tough cop so vulnerable. Joey nodded and continued to gently stroke Charlie's hair while continuing to rehydrate her with bottles she had taken with her from the boat. Charlie struggled to swallow but she kept trying. Joey tentatively reached for her hand, worried about disturbing her burns. She was pleased when Charlie tried to squeeze her hand. Joey leant closer.

"We're nearly safe, Charlie," she said gently. "We're going to make you better. Everything's going to be okay."

Aden pulled up abruptly outside the hospital, not bothering to park properly as Nicole headed inside to get help and Aden and Joey helped carry a protesting and pained Charlie out of the car.

* * *

Ruby stared at her mobile phone, willing it to ring with some kind of news of Charlie – preferably that it was all a big mistake and that she was okay. Geoff put a cup of tea and a biscuit beside her and sat close by. Ruby's instinct was to push him away but she fought against it. She suddenly realised that she was more like Charlie than she had ever believed. Generally, the only people they had ever let in during times of trouble, were each other. But during all the fallout with Charlie earlier in the year, Ruby had pushed Xavier away. She was in love with Geoff now and she wanted things to work between them. They'd struggled with her diabetes diagnosis but they'd come through it and she forced herself to be grateful for his support.

* * *

With Charlie being treated, there was nothing left for Joey to do but sit and wait and try to breathe. She sank into a chair and buried her head in her hands. Aden and Nicole exchanged glances before Aden sat down beside Joey and put his arm around her shoulders. She leant into him and tried not to let the tears fall. She hoped she had been strong for Charlie at the time but now, she felt like she was falling apart.

"Way to make an entrance," Aden remarked softly.

Joey chuckled and rubbed her face. She sat up and ran her hands through her hair, grateful for his support.

* * *

Ruby jumped when her phone rang, even though her annoying ringtone was what she had been hoping for all day.

"Charlie?" she asked.

"It's Nicole," her friend replied.

Ruby tried not to sound disappointed but explained quickly that it looked like Charlie was in danger.

"She's okay," Nicole said.

"You've seen her?"

"She's in the hospital. I mean, we don't know anything yet but she was talking... rambling when we brought her in."

"I don't understand," Ruby said weakly. "What was she doing with you?"

"It's a long story," Nicole said. "I don't even really get it myself yet. Come to the hospital and we'll all figure it out. You can see Charlie when the Doctors have finished with her."

Ruby nodded and was about to hang up when she remembered the police. Already getting ready to leave, she asked Nicole to call the police station and let them know what had happened.

* * *

Watson hung up from her colleagues. They'd found the shipping warehouse that Charlie had headed off to the night before and found lots of people, half dead in a shipping container. Officers were waiting for ambulances to take what they could only assume were illegal immigrants, to the hospital. There had also been a blood spattering on the floor that hadn't belonged to any of the people they had found. That, along with several long, dark hairs, the more Watson worried that Charlie was indeed in danger. Upon further investigation, they had found her car, hidden away behind the warehouse. There were track marks leading out of the complex and it looked as if they had shot off at some speed. Watson was beyond worried and she couldn't even fathom what she was meant to do about Angelo. By rights, he should have been hauled to the station to answer questions but with so little staff and a world of chaos around her, Watson had let him go. She hoped that she wouldn't regret that decision. She just hoped he was worried enough about Charlie not to try and disappear somewhere. For now, Hugo was in the morgue, illegal immigrants were on their way to hospital, Angelo - who was still suspended from duty - had run off on his own investigation and Charlie was most definitely missing. The phone rang again.

"Yabbie Creek Police Station. Constable Watson speaking," she said quickly.

"Hi, um, this is Nicole Franklin," said an anxious voice on the other end of the line. "I'm at the hospital with Charlie Buckton."

"You're with Charlie?" Watson squeaked.

Everyone in the station immediately listened in, worried about their friend and colleague.

"We don't know what's happened to her. Someone flagged us down. We put Charlie in the car and brought her here. She's in with the Doctor now."

"Okay," Watson said. "We'll be right there. Thank you so much for calling."

Watson hung up, called one of her colleagues over and then headed out of the station.

* * *

"What on earth happened?" Aden asked.

He and Nicole were sitting on either side of Joey who still couldn't quite get her head around any of it.

"I just found her," she explained. "She was passed out on an island nearby."

Nicole's mind flashed to the time that she and Geoff had been stranded on an island, thanks to her dalliance and her father's history with Elliot, the brother of Roman's colleague in the SAS. They had gone at the beginning of the year to try and rekindle their romance but had only ended up being nearly killed by some crazy man.

"I have no idea how she got there," Joey said. "She was passed out, really sunburnt and had a cut on her head. She was babbling away, you know, like she was on the way in here. She must have sunstroke. She..."

Joey sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes. Aden kept his arm around her.

"She was convinced she was dead and that I was taking her to hell."

* * *

Angelo burst into the police station, desperate for news of Charlie. Martha wasn't far behind him.

"She's at the hospital," a male colleague said. "Watson's just gone over to see her now."

"Well, what the hell happened?" Angelo demanded, as if it was his colleague's fault.

The man just shrugged and said he had no idea. With Martha in tow, Angelo headed back into his car. He had to get to Charlie.


	7. Chapter 7

****

Chapter Seven

"Well, you certainly have been in the wars," Rachel said when Charlie awoke from a confusing dream.

She sat up quickly and cried out in pain. Looking down, she realised almost all her skin was burnt

"Where am I?" she asked weakly, gently lying herself back down.

Rachel stepped closer and smiled kindly. Nobody could fathom what she had been through and how she had ended up in such a state.

"You're in the hospital," she said.

"I thought I was dead," Charlie managed.

Rachel smiled again.

"Yeah, you were saying as much when you were brought it."

Charlie closed her eyes.

"So, what's the damage?" she asked.

"You are severely sunburnt," Rachel said. "It's going to take a lot of time and gentle treatments to get you back how you were. You're also likely to be suffering from heatstroke. Do you feel sick at all?"

Charlie nodded and her head began to swim ever more. She closed her eyes and rested against the pillows.

"Well, we can give you something for that once we've given you a scan."

Charlie's eyes snapped open again.

"A scan?"

Rachel nodded.

"You had a fairly bad head injury," she explained. "So we need to just check that nothing terrible happened when you hit your head."

Charlie nodded more slowly this time. Rachel leant a little closer.

"Charlie, what on earth happened to you?"

* * *

Ruby and Geoff burst into the hospital and hurried towards Aden and Nicole. Nobody had ever seen Ruby look so frightened before. Nicole reached out to hold her hand and found that she was trembling and tears threatened to spill.

"What hap...?"

She cut herself off when she saw Joey timidly sitting in the chair beside her.

"Joey?" she squeaked.

Joey managed a smile.

"Hey, Ruby," she said.

"What are you...?"

"Joey saved Charlie's life," Aden said, just in case anyone wanted to give her some kind of unnecessary hassle for being there.

"But how? I mean... where was she? What happened to her? Is she okay?"

"Rachel's in with her now," Joey said. "I think she's okay. I was... sailing and pulled up on the island that's nearby."

"The one we were stranded on?" Geoff asked.

Nicole nodded.

"I found her and... well, she was just..."

Joey sighed. She was there and she still had no idea what had happened, or how to explain it to anyone. Ruby almost fell into a chair and buried her face in her hands. Geoff sat beside her, putting his arm around her and holding her close. Joey watched with interest. Last time she'd been in this town, Ruby had been dating Xavier and Geoff and Nicole were suffering over their breakup. Now, it definitely seemed like things had changed. She wondered what else was different.

* * *

Martha had convinced Angelo to drop her off at home. She had finally run out of steam and was too exhausted to keep chasing Charlie around town. Now that they knew she was safely in hospital, Martha wanted to go home and try to process what had happened. He hadn't wanted to drop her off but she knew his regret over taking Hugo away from her would win out. So now, Angelo was charging solo to the hospital to find out how Charlie was and what had happened to her. Entering the reception area, he spotted Ruby and her friends waiting around and looking stressed. He approached.

"Is Charlie okay?" he asked.

"We're waiting to hear," Aden said.

"What happened to her?"

Everyone looked down at Joey who was still seated. She looked up slowly, uncomfortable with the attention. Seeing Angelo, she suddenly jumped to her feet and glared at him.

"You drove past us," she accused.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Angelo asked. "Who are you?"

"My name's Joey and I was trying to save Charlie's life," Joey said.

Angelo frowned at the mention of her name. So, this was Joey. He presumed anyway. How many girls called Joey could there be? He looked her up and down, sizing up the competition. She was pretty, beautiful even, aside from the fury on her face.

"I didn't do anything wrong."

"I saw you on the boat," Joey said. "I had Charlie with me. She was a mess. She'd been through goodness knows what. And you... you sailed past us."

"I didn't see you," Angelo lied.

"You looked right at me," Joey pointed out. "I was waving and calling for help and you just ignored me."

"I was trying to help Charlie," Angelo faltered, aware that everyone was glaring at him now.

"Well, you failed," Joey said, sinking back into a chair.

He swallowed, already disliking Charlie's ex-girlfriend.

"Guys?"

Everyone looked as Rachel approached them.

* * *

Charlie looked up as Ruby tentatively entered her hospital room. She attempted to smile but with her red, peeling, cracked skin, it hurt too much. Ruby felt sad looking at her. It had only been last night that she'd looked beautiful as she laughed and danced with the rest of the town.

"I look that bad?" Charlie wondered, trying to offer some humour.

Ruby promptly burst into tears.

"_That_ bad?" Charlie asked.

She awkwardly pulled her daughter into a hug.

"What happened to you?" Ruby asked.

Charlie sank back against the pillows.

"Hugo turfed me out of his boat and made me swim to the island," Charlie explained. "I think. I don't really remember. It's all a bit hazy."

"Hugo did this?" Ruby asked incredulously. "Why? Why were you on his boat? I thought you went to work."

"I did," Charlie said. "He kidnapped me..."

"Hugo?" Ruby asked incredulously.

"He's a bad man," Charlie explained. "I don't exactly feel able to explain now but..."

She sighed heavily.

"I will."

Ruby nodded and cautiously held her hand.

"So, you swam to the island?" Ruby asked.

Charlie nodded and fought a wave of nausea.

"Then what?"

"Then I passed out. And I had the weirdest dream."

She closed her eyes, picturing Joey's beautiful face. She was her one lingering memory.

"What did you dream, Charlie?" Ruby asked.

"I dreamt that Joey came to save me."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Charlie watched in confusion as she watched Ruby smile and look amused.

"What?" she asked.

"You weren't dreaming," Ruby said. "Joey did save you."

"Excuse me?" Charlie squeaked.

She tried to furrow her brow but it hurt too much. Her mind reeled at the thought that Joey was around, that she'd saved her, held her, brought her to the hospital. Suddenly, she froze. Embarrassment and humiliation overwhelmed her as she remembered the things she had said. She'd believed she was dying or dead and that Joey was taking her beneath the earth, or that she was figment of her desperate imagination. She'd rambled and said all kinds of things. She had a vague recollection of leaving a message of love for her and Ruby in the sand. No, Joey being around was not a good thing! It was mortifying.

"Joey saved your life," Ruby said.

"But... oh, no..."

"What?"

"I said some seriously embarrassing things!" Charlie whimpered. "I think I was certifiable out there."

Ruby giggled and pulled up a chair in order to get comfortable.

"What did you say?" she asked.

Charlie shook her head and winced. She couldn't even begin to go into it now. Ruby took her hand.

"She's out in the corridor," she said. "She's waiting for you."

"What was she doing there?" Charlie wondered. "I mean, how did she find me? I'm so confused."

"I honestly don't know," Ruby said. "She was a bit too broken up to explain herself."

Charlie looked worried.

"Whatever happened today, Charlie, she's been desperately worried about you. She still loves you."

"She said that?" Charlie asked hopefully.

"She didn't have to."

Charlie closed her eyes. Opening up, she looked at the clock on the wall and wondered when she would be due another dose of painkillers and that soothing cream Rachel had given her for her burns. She frowned at the drip in her arm. Apparently she needed to be rehydrated.

"Do you still love her?" Ruby asked.

* * *

Things were more than a little awkward in the waiting area. Joey was sitting quietly on an uncomfortable plastic seat, with her legs drawn up in front of her as she rested her chin on her knees. Aden and Nicole sat beside her and Angelo was pacing, pausing only to give Joey the odd glare. He felt more than a little threatened by her presence and he couldn't even begin to think about what had happened with Hugo and what the consequences would be. He'd shot another man. He'd killed him. And Martha might be in shock now but sooner or later, she would hold him responsible for what happened. Whatever Hugo had done, whether he was a bad guy or not, Martha loved him. That wasn't something that would just stop in a heartbeat. He stopped when Watson appeared and walked towards them. She immediately asked about Charlie. Joey quietly explained that she'd found her in a state on the island and taken her back to Summer Bay. Not looking at Angelo, she explained that her cries for help out at sea when they passed a police boat, had been ignored but that on land, she'd run into Aden and Nicole and they'd taken them to the hospital. Watson glanced at Angelo and took him to one side.

* * *

Charlie focussed on the pain she was in instead of Ruby's expectant face. She didn't know what to say. She did still love Joey. She had always loved Joey. She'd just had a terrible way of showing it. She knew she'd deserved to lose her. She'd deserved all that pain and suffering. And while she did care for Angelo, she'd known all this time that he was a substitute for what she really wanted. She imagined a future where they could easily be happy together, aside from all the drama they seemed to put each other through. But the happiness she felt with him had never come close to what she had experienced, far too briefly, with Joey Collins. Looking up at Ruby, she nodded silently.

* * *

"You need to get to the police station right now," Watson warned.

"What about Charlie?" Angelo asked.

"Charlie is being looked after," Watson replied. "She's safe now. But you need to explain shooting a man in cold blood. Again."

Angelo swallowed and ran his hands through his short hair.

"It was necessary," Angelo said. "He was our prime suspect and he was getting away. I was always warned what this kind of mission could involve."

"It's not for me to judge," Watson said. "But you still have some explaining to do. So, go."

"But..."

"If you don't go willingly, I'll have no choice but to arrest you. Whether you're a cop or not, you still shot someone. You have a lot of explaining to do, Angelo."

Watson looked resolute. Angelo hesitated but was about to head for the exit when Ruby appeared.

"Joey, Charlie wants to..."

Changing direction, Angelo stormed past Ruby and Watson and charged into Charlie's room. Watson called his name in frustration, wondering why he always made everything harder for himself.

* * *

Charlie was startled when Angelo appeared in her room. She'd been gearing herself up for seeing Joey. She tried not to be disappointed. He approached the bed and kissed her without permission. She winced.

"Sorry," he said, taking her hand.

She winced again and drew away. He swallowed and stared down at her burnt, blotchy skin.

"You look awful," he said.

"Thanks!" she remarked sadly.

"What happened, Charlie?" he asked.

"I caught Hugo," she explained. "Or, well, he caught me. I found... Oh!"

Her eyes widened in horror as she suddenly remembered the people in the shipping container. What with everything that had happened, they'd become lost in her mind. She quickly explained what she'd found. He nodded.

"They've been taken to the hospital," he told her. "We found them when we were looking for you. How did you end up on the island?"

"Hugo. He kicked me off the boat and made me swim. And I... I don't really remember a whole lot after that."

She sighed heavily.

"Do you know who rescued you?" he asked.

She nodded, not looking at him.

"What was she doing there, Charlie?"

"I don't know."

"You haven't been in touch with her?"

"I haven't spoken to Joey since she left me back in May," Charlie said unhappily.

"Well then..."

She looked up sharply.

"Well then what?"

"Well then I'd suspect her of being involved in this somehow," Angelo said.

Charlie laughed and then frowned when she realised he was serious.

"You think Joey was involved in human trafficking? Are you serious?" she asked incredulously.

"Why not?" he said. "Who knows what she's capable of?"

"I know what she's capable of."

"You didn't believe me when I said Hugo was involved," Angelo pointed out. "Who says that Joey and Hugo haven't been working together all this time?"

"I can assure you that that's not the case," Charlie said firmly. "The last person in the world Joey would ever want to have anything to do with is Hugo. Well, second to last. The last would be me."

Angelo caught the look of sorrow in her eyes. He felt suddenly desperate for Joey to be guilty. The sadder Charlie looked and the more grateful he knew she felt to her hero, the less confident he was. What if all of this ended in disaster? What if he lost Charlie and she ran off with Joey? What if he was arrested for Hugo's murder? He'd lose everything. Again. He couldn't bear it.

"I know she means a lot to you, Charlie but it seems a little bit too much of a coincidence that she just happened by to save you when Hugo left you for dead. Do you know what she was supposedly doing on the island?" he asked.

"I don't know," Charlie admitted. "I haven't spoken to her since I stopped being utterly delirious. But I know she wouldn't do anything you're accusing her of. Hugo is to blame here. Arrest him. Don't go after Joey. She hasn't done anything wrong."

Deciding not to tell her that Hugo was dead, Angelo made eye contact, focussing on trying to read her.

"You don't still have feelings for her, do you?" he asked.


	9. Chapter 9

_Prepare to hate Angelo more...!_

**Chapter Nine**

"Do you?" Angelo asked when Charlie failed to reply.

"Angelo, I'm a lobster. I'm still dehydrated. I can't even begin to tell you what I've been through. Can we talk about this later?" Charlie asked tiredly.

"Why is the question so difficult?" Angelo asked. "Surely it's just a yes or a no? Preferably a no."

Charlie rubbed her face and then squeaked in pain. Angelo continued to stare at her.

"Please can we talk about this later?" she begged.

Her head was full on confusion. She was still trying to get her head around the fact that Joey was back in the Bay and that she had rescued her. Charlie had babbled on like a crazy person, thinking she had only imagined Joey. But now she was real and Charlie really had said all of those things, and probably more that she couldn't remember.

"No," Angelo said. "I need to talk about it now. Did something happen between you?"

"Angelo! I was barely conscious! Of course nothing happened."

"I bet she loved playing the hero," Angelo snapped grumpily.

"Why do you have it in for her?" Charlie asked. "What has Joey ever done to you?"

He leant in and stared into her eyes.

"She had your heart before I did," he told her.

Straightening up, he turned and left without another word.

* * *

Joey and Ruby looked up when Angelo reappeared in the hallway. The girls glanced at each other and Joey hoped that now she might get the chance to see Charlie. Watson approached him, eager to get him back to the station so that they could all piece together what on earth had happened that day. None of it made sense. Hugo was dead. Charlie had been dragged out to sea and back. Martha wasn't talking. And they had a handful of half-dead illegal immigrants receiving medical attention.

"You need to arrest her," Angelo said, glaring at Joey.

"What?" Watson asked in confusion.

This puzzle was getting more confusing by the second.

"Excuse me?" Joey demanded, leaping to her feet and approaching them.

Ruby, Geoff, Aden and Nicole followed. Aden looked set to punch anyone who might hurt Joey.

"We're busy chasing a human trafficking ring," Angelo said to Watson, ignoring the rest of them. "And Joey just appears from nowhere. In the right place at the right time. Don't you think that's a little suspicious?"

"I don't think Joey..."

"If you don't arrest her, I will," Angelo said. "And I'm that certain that she's involved that I'd take pleasure in it."

"Angelo, Joey would never do anything like you're suggesting," Ruby said. "She hasn't even been here."

"She could have been working from abroad," Angelo said. "A lot of the other group members have been."

"I haven't!" Joey snapped.

"Of course she hasn't!" Aden chimed in angrily.

Watson sighed and turned to Joey.

"Look, I'm sure all of this is a big mistake but could you come down to the station anyway?" she asked.

"I want to see Charlie," Joey protested.

"Well, she doesn't want to see you," Angelo snapped. "And I'm arresting you on suspicion of being involved in a human trafficking scheme."

Pulling out his handcuffs, he ignored Ruby, Aden, Nicole and Geoff's protests as he began to take Joey into custody.

"What on earth is going on?" Rachel asked, appearing just as Angelo, Watson and their colleague, dragged Joey away.

The others looked on helplessly.

* * *

Martha sat at home and stared at the pool of drying blood on the floor. Hugo's blood. She had no idea what she was meant to be feeling. He was dead. He'd been shot right in front of her. And she had loved him. She'd loved him almost as much as she'd loved Jack. Almost. But Jack had been a good man. He'd been a good cop with a heart of gold and an honest soul. Right now she didn't feel like she knew Hugo at all. What kind of things had he been messed up in? What kind of thing was he capable of? And what on earth had he done to Charlie. The front door opening startled her. She turned to see Gina, Xavier, Tony and Alf arrive. From their faces, they had obviously heard what had happened. All four sat down silently.

"Are you okay, love?" Alf finally asked, obviously worried.

Martha nodded quietly.

"What happened?" Gina asked, her voice catching.

"He resisted arrest," Martha managed. "He was trying to run away. Angelo shot him."

Xavier tried not to cry. Gina gritted her teeth.

"Rachel said he died instantly," Tony said. "She didn't think he would have suffered."

"He got shot," Gina snapped. "Of course he suffered. Quick or not, he would have known he was dying. He would have felt the life drain out of him. He..."

She burst into tears. Xavier put his arms around her.

"Did... did anyone tell you what he was involved in?" Martha asked.

Alf nodded. Xavier sighed loudly. His head was reeling. He didn't understand anything that had happened over the last couple of days.

* * *

Ruby reappeared in Charlie's hospital room. Aden and Nicole had opted to follow Joey to the police station and Geoff was patiently waiting in the corridor. Charlie smiled at her, glad to have a visit from her daughter although she had hoped it might be Joey walking through the door.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noticing how serious Ruby looked.

"Angelo just arrested Joey."

"What?" Charlie shrieked, jolting forward and wincing in pain.

Her head began to swim.

"He thinks it was too coincidental for her to rescue you the way she did."

"There is no way Joey would ever be involved in something like this," Charlie said firmly.

"Well, I know that," Ruby said. "To be honest, I think it's more to do with him feeling threatened than thinking she was involved with Hugo somehow."

Charlie sighed heavily and agreed. She couldn't help but worry about Joey.

"Charlie, can you tell me everything that happened?" she asked.

* * *

Joey sat in the police interview room and was grateful that it was Watson who was leading the interview. Angelo had disappeared somewhere. She was glad not to have to spend time with him.

"What do you know of Hugo Austin?" Watson asked.

"I know he slept with the love of my life behind my back," Joey replied flatly.

Watson sighed, feeling genuine compassion for her. It was ridiculous that she was even here being interviewed. She wished Angelo would have just left her alone.

"You've never worked with him?" she asked.

"No," Joey said. "I've been at sea working on a trawler. I left a few months ago. I don't really understand what's going on here. What was he going on about? Human trafficking? I don't understand."

"It's our belief that Hugo Austin was a ring leader in the illegal immigrant trade. He was bringing people into Summer Bay, hiding them, treating them like cattle. If it's true, he has a lot of death and suffering on his hands," Watson explained.

"And you think I have something to do with it?" Joey asked incredulously.

Watson sighed. She wanted to tell her she knew she wasn't involved. But she had to remain professional and impartial.

"Why don't you tell me what you were doing out at sea today," Watson suggested.

"I was sailing," Joey said. "I'm always sailing. I live on my boat."

"Your boat?"

Joey nodded.

"I bought it when I left my last job," Joey said.

"What was your last job?"

"I was working for a trawler," Joey told her. "I was on a long haul. I told you."

Watson nodded.

"So, you were just sailing randomly?" she asked.

"I was heading back to Summer Bay," Joey explained.

"Why?"

Joey looked awkward. She shifted in her seat.

"I wanted to see Charlie," she admitted.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Ruby sat by Charlie's side, holding her hand carefully and trying to absorb what had happened. Hugo was a monster and had nearly killed her. And Angelo was kicking off about Joey when he really should just be grateful that someone was there to save Charlie's life.

"I can't even believe this," she sighed. "I mean... Hugo? He's Xavier's brother. He..."

Charlie sighed and closed her eyes. For so long, she had defended him to Angelo. She'd tried to believe in him and it had all been fruitless. And now everything was more confusing than ever.

"But Joey saved your life?" Ruby asked.

Charlie nodded.

"I thought it was all some kind of weird, delirious dream or something but she was really there. She was really trying to save me."

She smiled sadly.

"Where is she?"

"I guess she's at the police station," Ruby said. "Watson and Angelo took her away."

"But she didn't do anything wrong!" Charlie insisted desperately. "She'd never be involved in anything like that."

"I know," Ruby said. "Watson knows. She only took her in to appease Angelo."

"I hope she lets her go quickly," Charlie said. "I want to see her."

A smile played on Ruby's lips as she studied Charlie's burnt face.

"You still love her," she replied.

If Charlie blushed it wasn't noticeable with the redness of her poorly skin. She sighed heavily.

"Of course I do," she admitted sadly. "I've always loved her. I fell in love with her the first moment I met her and you know I don't even believe in that kind of thing. But it's true. Joey... well, I think she's pretty much perfect. But that means she's too good for me. I'll always love her but I don't have a chance."

"She dropped everything to save your life," Ruby said. "I'd say you have a chance."

"This is Joey," Charlie pointed out. "She'd drop everything to save the life someone she hated... Well, I guess she did. She saved me."

"Charlie, she really didn't look like she hated you out in the hall," Ruby said, leaning in almost conspiratorially. "She looked like she's as much in love with you as she always was."

Charlie closed her eyes again, not wanting to fall on some kind of false hope.

"Honestly..." Ruby added. "I don't think she hates you."

"I hope not. I mean, I don't know how long she'll be here. But maybe... maybe we could talk or something."

Ruby smiled, not letting go of her mother's hand.

"What about Angelo?" she asked softly.

"I told him Joey had nothing to do with it," Charlie said. "She had nothing to do with Hugo. I told him and he just dragged her off anyway. He hated her the moment he realised who she was. He... I don't want to be with someone who could react like that. He knows he's clutching at straws. I think he's just trying to hurt her. That's not fair."

* * *

"What the hell did you think you were doing shooting your gun off like that?" Angelo's boss, Chief Inspector Jacob Davis demanded.

The constable sat on the other side of the desk, clasping his hands together in despair. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this one. And Joey's presence was still playing on his mind. He was desperate for her to be guilty of something. Then perhaps he could keep Charlie onside.

"He was getting away," he said. "I had to do something."

"Well, you're lucky that the guy's been proved to be a ringleader in this whole thing," Jacob replied. "The media have got hold of it already. We're going to spin it into some kind of heroic act. Will this girlfriend... um... Martha...?"

Angelo nodded.

"Will Martha corroborate the story?"

"I don't know," Angelo said. "She was pretty shocked by the whole thing. Although, she didn't seem to hate me. She came with me to try and find Charlie. And she didn't technically see anything."

"That's encouraging."

Angelo nodded, although nothing felt terribly encouraging right now.

"We'll get you out of it," the big boss said. "But don't open your mouth, okay? Don't confess or express guilt, not even to your girlfriend."

"Okay," Angelo managed.

"Now, who's this girl Watson's talking to now?"

"Joey Collins," Angelo said. "She rescued Charlie and it all seems a bit suspicious to me. I'm not one to believe in coincidences. I reckon she's involved."

"Well now that Austin's dead, if she is involved, she can be the face of evil as far as the media's concerned."

"Shall I try and make something stick?" Angelo asked, more than a little hopefully.

"I think you've done enough," his boss said quickly. "I think you need to go home, shower, change, take your girl some flowers and keep your head down."

Angelo nodded and they both stood. Shaking hands, Angelo took one glance towards the interview room and then headed out of the station to follow his Jacob's instructions.

* * *

"Can I go?" Joey asked.

She didn't understand what was going on. She barely knew what human trafficking was, let alone how one would get involved. And she had never thought much of Hugo but his involvement in something like that was horrific.

"Just wait here," Watson said, feeling completely out of her depth.

Joey nodded unhappily and watched her leave the room. Outside, Watson found the Chief Constable who had come in especially for this case. She was glad he had finished talking to Angelo. She didn't want Charlie's boyfriend influencing a decision about her ex-girlfriend.

"Anything from the Collins girl?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"I don't think she was involved," she said. "She doesn't have any idea what we're talking about. She hasn't been here. I think she was just in the right place at the right time when it came to saving Charlie."

"What was she out on the water for?" he asked.

"She lives on her boat and she said she was heading here," Watson said. "She wanted to talk to Charlie."

"They know each other?"

"Intimately," Watson said a little awkwardly.

He looked confused for a moment and then realised what she meant. No wonder Angelo had been so desperate to charge her with something.

"You honestly don't think she's involved in this?" he asked.

"I'm positive," Watson said.

"Then I trust your judgement," he said. "Let her go but keep her contact details in case we need her again."

She nodded and headed into the interview room. Jacob sighed and leant on the desk. Having a face of evil sounded like such a good idea but obviously Joey wasn't it.

* * *

Showered, shaved and feeling much fresher, Angelo approached the hospital. As Jacob had suggested, he'd bought flowers and now hoped Charlie was alone. She wasn't. Ruby was sitting with her.

"Hey," he said, poking his head around the door and smiling.

"Hi," Charlie said.

He hoped she wasn't smiling because she was so burnt.

"Should I leave you to it?" Ruby asked.

Angelo looked hopeful. Charlie looked unsure. Taking the decision from her, Ruby stood up, kissed her hair goodbye, due to that being the only appropriate part of her that wasn't red raw.

"I'll come back and see you in the morning," Ruby said. "And I'll be all moved back in by the time you come home, okay?"

Charlie smiled widely and then winced from the pain.

"Love you, Charlie," Ruby said as she slipped passed Angelo.

"Love you, Rubes" Charlie replied.

She watched her leave. Angelo came to sit with her and put the flowers on the bedside table.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Sore," Charlie said. "Where's Joey?"

"She was being interviewed when I left," he said.

"I told you she wasn't involved," Charlie said.

"I have to follow every lead, Charlie," Angelo said. "You know that as well as I do."

"_You_ know she's not involved," Charlie told him.

"I don't know that," he said. "I know that you're not impartial though. And that brings me back to my question from earlier. Do you still have feelings for Joey?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Charlie nodded slowly. Tears stung her eyes as she feared his reaction. He stood over her, glaring and feeling a lump form in his throat, cursing himself for ever having fallen in love with her.

"I'm sorry," Charlie said.

"So, what?" he asked. "This is it? You're leaving me for her?"

"No," Charlie told him. "I haven't even seen her. After what I did, I doubt... But yes, I think we should break up."

Angelo clenched his jaw and he offered a look of disgust.

"Just like that?" he asked. "After everything we've been through together?"

"I'm sorry," she said again.

He began to pace the small hospital room. She watched him with tired eyes. He paused and turned back to her.

"How can you do this to me?" he demanded angrily.

"I nearly died today," Charlie said with false calmness. "If that isn't going to make me reassess my life and start being honest with myself then what will?"

He approached the bed and glared at her.

"What do you mean, being honest with yourself?" he asked.

"You and I were never going to work, Angelo," Charlie said.

"See, that's where you're wrong," he snapped. "That's where you're making the biggest mistake of your life."

"The biggest mistake of my life was cheating on Joey," Charlie replied.

His glare got sharper.

"There is nobody in the world that is better for you than me, Charlie," he said. "I am perfect for you. This Joey chick... she's just the one that got away. She's the one that should have got away and stayed there. I mean, where the hell was she when everything was happening with Ruby and Grant? She wasn't there. I was. I supported you through everything. I'm the one who loved you, who adored you. I'm the one who's been there for you and I swear, Charlie, you've got one last chance to take this back. I'm giving you one moment to ditch this stupid idea and stay with me."

His eyes bored into hers, hoping that she would take it. She stared right back, swallowed and shook her head.

"It's over," she said. "I'm not changing my mind."

Without warning, he leant forward and grabbed her tightly around her arms, squeezing her sunburn. She cried out in pain and tears stung her eyes.

"You're going to be sorry," he said darkly before letting her go and storming out of the room.

* * *

Joey took a slow walk along the beach. She just hoped that Angelo wouldn't be there. He obviously had a problem with her and she really didn't want to involve herself in any kind of conflict. All she wanted was to make sure that Charlie was okay. She'd been so poorly and seemed so vulnerable. Arriving at the docks, she headed towards her boat and hoped she wasn't in some kind of trouble for leaving it there without permission. Arriving back on deck, she found a note had been left, telling her to report to the office and pay her way or leave immediately. Heading into her bedroom, she changed clothes and then took the notice to the office she had once known so well.

"You're the one on the _Charlie_?" the man asked.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Joey replied. "It was an emergency."

"How long are you staying?"

"Probably just a night," Joey told him before settling up.

* * *

Charlie stayed alone in her hospital bed. Her skin was stinging and tears were rolling down her hot, sore cheeks. She stared into space and thought about Joey. Was she still at the police station? How was she? Would they see each other again? She was desperately worried that her rescuer would abandon her and sail off into the sunset again without a chance for them to talk. That would break her heart, although, regardless of what happened now, she knew she had done the right thing by ending it with Angelo. That had certainly been a long time coming and she knew it was for the best.

* * *

Ruby and Geoff tucked into a pizza together and began to discuss everything that had happened that day. Ruby shook her head, finished her mouthful and sat back in her chair.

"I just can't believe I nearly lost her," she said sadly.

Geoff reached for her hand. Ruby seemed to have surprised herself with just how frightened she had been.

"She looks terrible, Geoff. She was so broken and lost. I hope things went okay with her and Angelo."

"They'll be fine," Geoff said. "They always are. I mean, they love each other, right?"

Ruby shook her head quietly. Geoff eyed her with curiosity, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I think she's going to break up with him," Ruby said.

"Why?"

"She doesn't love him," she said. "I don't think she ever has. Joey's always been the one. Charlie just realised it too late."

* * *

Joey took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Charlie's side room. She heard her ex-partner call for whoever it was to come in. Taking another deep breath, Joey pushed the door open and approached the bed, offering a bunch of flowers she'd picked up on her walk to the hospital. She smiled shyly and she and Charlie spent several long moments gazing at each other.

"How are you feeling?" Joey asked quietly.

Charlie nodded and then winced. Joey put the flowers on the bedside table and leant closer. She studied Charlie's face and examined her sore skin, feeling sad for her.

"I look pretty rough, hey?" Charlie managed.

"You look pretty sore," Joey agreed. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"If I'd have found you sooner or something then maybe I could have..."

"Joey, you saved my life," Charlie interrupted. "I could never begin to thank you for that."

She tried to smile but it hurt too much. Joey tentatively reached out and took her hand, careful not to hurt her.

"I'm glad you're on the mend," Joey said.

"Thank you," Charlie replied. "For everything."

Joey smiled and gazed into Charlie's eyes.

"I heard you got dragged down to the station," Charlie said anxiously. "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair."

"As long as you know I didn't do anything," Joey replied. "I'd never..."

"I know," Charlie said softly. "I know you weren't involved."

"To be honest, I don't think I even understand what I was being accused of," Joey admitted. "One minute I was sailing back to Summer Bay to see you and the next..."

She shook her head. It all felt a little too much.

"You were coming to see me?" Charlie asked.

Joey looked startled and blushed.

"Uh... well, um..."

She licked her lips.

"Don't worry about it," she said quickly. "I know you and that guy are together and..."

"I broke up with him," Charlie told her.

Joey tried not to look pleased.

"Well, good because he strikes me as a first class bastard," she smirked. "No offence. He totally saw me calling for help on the boat and he just headed right on past us."

Charlie nodded. That sounded about right. She retained hold of Joey's hand.

"So, um... so why were you coming to see me?" she wondered.

Joey sighed and thought about her answer. What should she say? She'd planned this moment so many times and yet no scenario had ever quite turned out like this.

"I missed you," she finally said. "And I guess I wanted to find out if you felt the same."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"I've missed you too," Charlie replied without hesitation but full of sincerity.

Joey felt her heart begin to race a little as she gazed at Charlie's burnt but beautiful face. They smiled at each other. Charlie began to reach for Joey's hand but winced. Joey immediately became concerned.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Do you need me to get someone?"

Charlie shook her head.

"Could you just pass me my cream?" she asked. "Rachel left it with me to apply as and when but I can't reach it."

Joey picked the tube up. She unscrewed the lid and offered it out to Charlie who began to attempt rubbing it in. Joey watched her struggle for a few moments and then held her hand out. Charlie gazed at her for a few moments before putting the tube in Joey's hand.

"Do you mind?" she asked a little hesitantly.

"Of course not," Joey said. "I managed on the boat."

Charlie looked puzzled. Her memories still weren't very clear. Joey blobbed some cream on her hand and gently began to rub it into Charlie's arms. Charlie closed her eyes.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" Joey worried.

Charlie shook her head. There was pain. But mostly, she was in a muddle over the feelings Joey's touch was provoking. She smiled. Even though Charlie couldn't see her, Joey smiled back. She gently massaged the cream into Charlie's sore skin. When she was done, she put the cream away and held Charlie's hand.

"How long are you sticking around for?" Charlie asked.

"I've paid for the boat for a night," Joey said. "So, I don't know really. I could pay for more or I could sail away again tomorrow."

"I hope you stay," Charlie said honestly. "I'd like to spend more time with you. I wasn't exactly with it when I saw you before!"

Joey giggled.

"No kidding!" she said.

"I really embarrassed myself, didn't I?" Charlie cringed.

Joey looked around and pulled a chair up close to the bed. She sat down and took careful hold of Charlie's hand again.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed," she said. "You were in a terrible state. You were burnt, dehydrated..."

"I bet I looked stunning!" Charlie laughed.

Joey grinned.

"You always look stunning," she said.

"I look like a lobster!"

"You're still beautiful underneath," Joey said softly.

They gazed at each other for several long moments.

"Well, if I said anything bad or embarrassing then I take it back and you can't hold it against me," Charlie said.

Joey smiled.

"You told me you loved me," she said, getting straight to the point.

Charlie's eyes widened. She met Joey's gaze and took a deep breath.

"I don't take that back," she said. "Although, that is in the embarrassing category."

Joey studied Charlie's hand to see how burnt it was and caught sight of a ring on her finger. She recognised it immediately.

"You still wear it?" she asked.

Charlie looked down at her hand and then nodded.

"I've worn it every day since you gave it to me," she said. "I felt like that day, well, I nearly offered it back to you. That would have been the decent thing to do. But I just... I couldn't part with it. Sorry."

"Don't be silly," Joey said softly, gazing into her eyes. "I gave it to you because I wanted you to have it. And I'm happy that you still wear it."

Charlie offered a smile, wondering if she'd overstepped the mark by essentially telling her that she loved her.

"I'm still in love with you," Joey admitted. "I've been in love with you almost from the moment I meant you. And I've been running... well, sailing, all this time trying to forget about it but I can't escape my own heart. That's why I came back. I wanted to tell you. I thought if you told me you didn't love me anymore, or maybe at all, then I could finally let you go and move on."

A tear escaped Charlie's eye. It stung a little but she didn't react.

"I did love you, Joey," she said. "And I've never stopped."

Joey exhaled loudly and met Charlie's expression.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" she asked.

They both smiled, remembering the same question on that eventful night, all those months ago.

"It's completely up to you," Charlie said. "But if I get my way, I get you back."

Without hesitation, Joey leant in and kissed her.

_

* * *

_

Okay, so I took a bit of artistic licence with the ring. I don't remember Charlie wearing one and I might have watched the CJ says a handful of times! Lol. But I hope you don't mind. And I hope you enjoyed the chapter. xxx


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Charlie was glad to be out of hospital but she was still very sore and not feeling very well at all. Her bed sheets irritated her burnt body, even more than the hospital ones had and she was feeling miserable, although Ruby was doing a wonderful job of waiting on her and she was glad to be able to spend time with Joey. The former deckhand had paid up for her boat for a good few days and both were secretly hoping that she would stay longer, preferably indefinitely. She'd helped Charlie get home a couple of days ago and she'd visited for most of the day, every day since. The nights were the hardest. In her uncomfortable sheets, all alone in the dark, Charlie was privately suffering with terrible nightmares. She woke up sweating and shaking, which only made her sunburn feel worse.

Stepping out of a cool shower that morning, with the water having both soothed and irritated her skin, Charlie wrapped a towel loosely around herself. Shutting her bedroom door, she lay naked on her bed, letting herself air dry. Towel drying these days was definitely not an option. She could see the burns improving but she was still very red and now her skin was flaking and peeling. Charlie felt hideous.

* * *

In the living room, Ruby and Joey sat together, talking about Charlie and waiting for her to appear from her room.

"How is she coping, do you think?" Joey asked worriedly.

She was doing the best for Charlie but she knew she was suffering worse than she let on. Joey couldn't help but feel a little helpless over the whole thing. She ran over the events of the past few days and wondered if she could have done something different, better, to somehow make things easier for Charlie. But she hoped she had done her best.

"I don't know," Ruby admitted. "I mean, she's smiley and everything... especially when she's with you or talking about you or thinking about you..."

The teenager offered a teasing smile. Joey blushed but couldn't stop herself from grinning back. Thinking about Charlie had a very similar effect on her if she was being honest.

"But I think she's a lot more freaked out than she's letting on," Ruby said. "I'm sure I've heard her crying at night."

She sighed, worried about her mother.

"I wish there was more we could do for her," Joey said unhappily. "I can't even hold her and tell her that everything will be okay because it hurts when people touch her."

Ruby nodded. She was finding it hard not to hug Charlie as a way of offering comfort. She could hardly imagine how hard Joey must be finding things. They had been apart for so long and now, when they were finally together again, nothing physical could happen. Ruby thought it must be quite frustrating for both of them.

"Personally, I think she needs a holiday," Ruby said.

"Do you?" Joey asked, an idea flashing into her brain.

Ruby nodded.

"She needs to get out of Summer Bay for a bit and enjoy her sick leave as best she can," she said. "Totally cut herself off from the world, not have to think about Hugo or Angelo or anything like that. She's been through so much. She just needs to get away and have someone take care of her."

"I'd like to take care of her," Joey admitted.

"What about your boat?" Ruby suggested.

Joey looked puzzled.

"You could take her off on the boat for a few days or something, couldn't you?" Ruby said hopefully.

Joey nodded, although she wasn't entirely sure if Charlie would like to be at sea again after her ordeal.

"Why don't you suggest it?" Ruby said. "The worst she can do is say no."

Joey nodded and stood up, heading over to Charlie's room. She knocked.

"Hang on," Charlie called through the door.

Mishearing her, Joey turned the handle and pushed the door open. Her eyes widened when she saw Charlie lying completely naked on the bed.

"Oh, shit! Sorry!" Joey said. "I thought you said come in!"

She moved back out of the room and began to pull the door closed. Charlie reached for her towel, feeling almost as embarrassed as Joey did and told her to come in properly. Cautiously, Joey poked her head around the door again, flushed red and feeling shy. She apologised again. Charlie smiled.

"Nothing you haven't seen before," she smirked.

Joey blushed more and moved into the room properly. She came to sit beside her, extremely aware that she had now seen Charlie nude again and she was now only loosely covered with a towel. They sat close together, sexual tension immediately surging between them. It was definitely more than a little frustrating that they couldn't touch properly. They smiled at each other. Joey leant in and brushed her lips against Charlie's. Their kiss immediately developed, the heat between them rising in temperature. They parted only to catch their breath before coming together to kiss again and again. Caught in the moment, Charlie held onto the back of Joey's neck and pulled her on top of her. Then she cried out. Joey jerked away, feeling horny and guilty in equal measure.

"Sorry," she squeaked.

Charlie sat up, wincing.

"It was more my fault than yours," she said. "I was the one getting carried away!"

Joey smirked.

"I think we were about level there," she grinned.

They kissed again, more tenderly this time.

"I can't believe I've got over a week until my skin's going to feel even vaguely normal again," Charlie sighed.

Joey kissed her and assured her that it would be worth the wait. They smiled lovingly at each other and held hands as painlessly as they could.

"I actually did come in here for a reason other than to try and take advantage of you," Joey grinned.

"Oh?" Charlie asked with intrigue.

"I was chatting to Ruby and she thought you might appreciate a little holiday."

Charlie's eyes lit up. Then she frowned.

"I can't just leave Rubes though," she said

"She'll be fine," Joey said. "It would just be for a few days and she's got Leah. Plus, even though she's moved out, I'm sure Irene will happily look in on her."

"What if she thinks I'm abandoning her?" Charlie asked.

Joey leant in and kissed her again, assuring her that it was Ruby's idea and she wanted the best for her.

"She said you've been having nightmares."

Charlie cringed. She felt embarrassed that anyone had found out about those.

"I thought... if you were up to it and it didn't bring back too many horrible memories... you might like to come away with me on the boat for a little while?" Joey offered.

Charlie couldn't help but smile. The idea of escaping off to paradise with Joey sounded heavenly. She kissed her one more time.

"As long as it's alright with Ruby, I would absolutely love to," she said. "Although, I warn you, I've turned into a proper night time fidget."

They grinned at each other, both excited at the prospect of sharing a bed, even if it was unlikely that anything could happen between them for the moment.

"I love you," Joey said honestly.

"I love you too," Charlie replied without hesitation.

Smiling, they kissed again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Charlie, Joey, Ruby and Geoff approached Joey's boat. The couple had decided to go away for five days to try and recover from everything Charlie had been through at the hands of Hugo Austin. Ruby wanted to see the boat and wave them off. Approaching the docks, she suddenly stopped and grinned at Joey.

"What?" the former deckhand asked uncertainly.

"You called your boat 'Charlie'," Ruby announced. "I think that's possibly the cutest thing I have _ever _seen!"

Joey coloured and cringed. Charlie looked too and indeed, there emblazoned on the side was her name. She smiled at how embarrassed Joey was.

"Um... it came that way?" Joey suggested.

Everyone knew it wasn't true. When she'd bought her beloved boat, the only name she had considered was Charlie's. It made her feel closer to her even though they had broken up, as if she held a part of her somehow. And now that they were back together, she'd realised that they had both loved each other all this time and it had not been one sided.

"Okay, now that's even cuter," Ruby giggled, starting to walk again.

Geoff laughed and Charlie took hold of Joey's hand.

"Aw, are we playing happy families?" came a bitter sneer.

Charlie didn't need to turn around to know it was Angelo but she did anyway. The police officer stood behind them, out of uniform, unshaven and looking angry. Joey told Charlie to ignore him and gently tugged on her hand to get her to carry on walking. This was meant to be a happy trip and she didn't want it to be ruined by Charlie's ex-boyfriend.

"She'll never be able to ignore me properly," Angelo called after them.

Charlie clutched Joey's hand a little tighter but kept her pace. She, Joey, Ruby and Geoff hopped on board and Ruby eagerly explored the place that Joey had been calling home for months. Angelo watched them go, fighting tears.

* * *

Half an hour later, Ruby hugged her mother very gently goodbye. Hugging Joey too, she stepped off board, watching and waving while Joey pulled the boat away from the dock. Ruby turned to her boyfriend.

"I hope they have a good time," she said. "Charlie deserves a bit of pampering."

"She doesn't look very well at the moment," Geoff agreed, concerned. "I hope she gets the break she needs."

Geoff nodded and put his arm around his girlfriend before suggesting they headed to the Diner.

* * *

Charlie approached Joey at the wheel. Standing behind her, she wrapped her arms around her waist. The contact stung her arms a little bit but she firmly decided that it was worth it to be close to Joey. She rested her chin on Joey's shoulder, breathing in the scent of her shampoo and closing her eyes. Joey smiled, happy with the hug and wishing it could last forever.

"Thank you for this," Charlie said softly. "I didn't realise how much I needed a break."

"After everything you've been through?" Joey asked with a raised eyebrow. "How could you not need a rest, Charlie? I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling right about now."

Charlie kissed Joey's neck, letting her lips linger there for several long moments.

"You're going to drive me to distraction," Joey grinned.

"Oh really?" Charlie purred.

She parted her lips, kissing Joey a little harder and sucking on her skin. Joey moaned loudly and closed her eyes, pushing back a little further into Charlie's arms.

"I'd almost forgotten how wild you drive me," she moaned.

Encouraged, Charlie ran her tongue softly over Joey's soft skin, kissing her even harder. Cutting the engine and abandoning the wheel, Joey turned and gathered Charlie into her arms. She paused and apologised when she saw her girlfriend wince.

"It doesn't matter," Charlie breathed, kissing Joey's lips.

Closing her eyes, Joey enjoyed the sensation of Charlie pressed up against her, kissing her as if she was the most wonderful person in the world. She felt the wheel press hard against her back in an awkward position but neither them were willing to get distracted. Eventually, Charlie drew away, gazing longingly into Joey's eyes.

"I really wish we could... you know," Joey admitted.

"We can," Charlie said.

Joey raised her eyebrows and gestured to how burnt poor Charlie was.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said.

"I'm sure we can get a little creative if we put our minds to it," Charlie said. "I mean, really it's just my arms, legs and face that are hurt."

"And your shoulders," Joey pointed out. "And your chest."

Charlie smirked.

"Not the areas that matter!" she giggled.

Joey burst out laughing, settling her hands on Charlie's backside and pulling her in closer.

"Then creative it is!" she said. "Let me just get a few things sorted and..."

Charlie kissed her possessively.

"Now," she ordered.

"We're drifting!" Joey pointed out.

They kissed again.

"Be quick!" Charlie said. "I'll meet you in your bedroom."

Joey smiled, more than eager to obey Charlie's commands.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Charlie was surprised by just how fast her heart was racing. Stepping inside Joey's small bedroom, she pulled off the loose fitting strapless top she was wearing. It hurt to take it off so doing that in front of Joey was likely to kill the mood. Shrugging out of her baggy shorts, she stood in front of the mirror, glaring at her reflection. She'd never thought she was God's gift to men or women by any measure, but she couldn't bear the way she looked now. Rachel had repeatedly reassured her that her skin would heal and aside from some extra freckles and the odd skin discolouration, she would eventually be as good as new. For now, she wasn't. And it was depressing. Her face was red and blotchy, her shoulders and arms were sore and peeling, as were her legs.

"This is a bad idea," she decided unhappily.

She was just reaching to pull her clothes back on when she caught sight of Joey leaning against the doorframe with a smile on her face. Charlie froze, suddenly feeling very exposed and embarrassed.

"You know, if I looked like that, I would not be glaring into the mirror," Joey said.

Charlie clutched her top anxiously, wondering if Joey was making fun of her or not. Still smiling lovingly at her, Joey stepped further into the room. She extracted the item from Charlie's fingers and held both her hands.

"You're so beautiful, Charlie," she almost whispered.

Charlie smiled shyly and admitted she didn't feel very beautiful right now.

"Well, you are," Joey assured her. "Even with all your burns and the sadness that's in your eyes right now, you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And I love you so much."

Charlie looked down but couldn't help grinning. Joey retained hold of her hands and stepped in a little closer.

"But if you're not ready to do this," she continued. "Then that's fine. We've got the rest of our lives to be together. We don't need to rush anything."

"I want to," Charlie said, looking back up at her. "I just feel really ugly at the moment and I... Honestly, Joey, I have no idea why you'd want to be with me again even without the burns and..."

Joey silenced her with a kiss. Charlie smiled as she tentatively wrapped her arms around Joey, pulling her as close as possible. The tip of her tongue touched Joey's lips. They immediately parted and the kiss deepened. After several long moments, Joey nudged Charlie back onto the bed. Not letting their lips part, Charlie pulled Joey down with her. Pressing their bodies together, Joey lifted her head and gazed into Charlie's eyes, wanting to check that she was really sure about everything. Charlie answered her with a kiss.

"Now, how are we going to do this without hurting you?" Joey wondered dreamily.

She inched down Charlie's body, taking all of her in and admiring her body. Her neck, shoulders, arms and the top part of her chest was sore. Joey smiled when she realised that her breasts were unharmed. Lowering her lips onto Charlie's warm body, she took one and then the other into her mouth. Gently, she teased her with her lips, tongue and fingertips. Charlie gazed up at the ceiling, enjoying every aspect of Joey's touch. It had been so long. And judging just by the first few minutes of their love making, it would be worth the wait.

* * *

A while later, Charlie was resting atop the bedding that was not quite so neatly made anymore. Joey lay further down the bed, carefully curled into her girlfriend's embrace. She rested her head between Charlie's breasts and tummy and rested her hand on a non-burnt part of her thigh. She smiled as she felt Charlie tousle her hair.

"That was amazing," Charlie said dreamily.

Joey smiled. She kissed Charlie's tummy and moved into a sitting position. She took both of Charlie's hands in turn and kissed them.

"It really was," she said. "Even better than before and... I mean, well before... it was..."

She grinned. So did Charlie. Despite their problems back when they had first dated, their love making had been nothing short of beautiful. And exhilarating. And this time around it was even better. Neither of them had thought it possible until it happened. Charlie sat up against the cushions, wincing a little as her burnt arms made contact with the sheets.

"Thank you for your patience," Charlie said. "And for being so um... creative."

She grinned, feeling very lucky to have Joey as her girlfriend. She'd been so tender and gentle, so thoughtful and caring, careful not to provoke any of Charlie's injuries. Joey leant forward and kissed her.

"Thank you for letting me," she said.

They kissed again with more passion. Charlie stroked Joey's face, gazing into her eyes.

"Coming away with you was the best idea ever," she said. "It's only day one and..."

She trailed off, grinning.

"Well, I officially make it my mission to treat you like the Princess you are," Joey declared.

Charlie laughed.

"Oh really?" she asked.

"Uh huh," Joey nodded. "I'm going to pamper you, cook for you, amuse you, make love you to, maybe even teach you to sail if you like..."

Charlie beamed at her.

"And what am I required to do?" she asked.

"All you have to do is relax, enjoy yourself, rest and let me spoil you a little bit," Joey said.

They kissed again. Charlie very much liked the sound of Joey's plan.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Joey jolted awake at the sound of screaming. Rubbing her eyes, she realised that Charlie was having a nightmare.

"Charlie?" she whispered gently, trying to find a way to touch and wake her without hurting her burns.

She settled on touching the palm of Charlie's hand. The back was burnt but the inside wasn't.

"Charlie?" she called again.

Charlie continued to scream. Then she began to thrash around. She sat up quickly as her injuries roused her from her dreams. Tears filled her eyes and she was breathing too heavily. Worried, Joey clicked the light on and held both her hands.

"Charlie?" she said softly. "Charlie, how can I help you?"

"I..."

Charlie gasped, struggling more and more to catch her breath. It was quickly turning into a panic attack. Joey shifted so that she was sitting in front of her. Carefully, she tilted her chin and looked into her eyes.

"Charlie, I need you to breathe with me, okay?" she said.

Joey began to breathe deeply and loudly, in and out. Charlie struggled to focus on Joey's kind but worried expression and just about managed to engage in her breathing pattern. After what felt like too long, Charlie managed to calm down. More tears cascaded down her cheeks and she grew hot with embarrassment.

"Sorry," she managed.

"Hey," Joey said, stroking Charlie's hair. "There's nothing to apologise for."

"I don't know what happened."

"Has this been happening every night?" Joey asked.

Charlie nodded.

"Ever since..."

"Sweetheart, you should have told me," Joey said. "I mean, Ruby said you were having nightmares but I never imagined..."

"I get scared of going to sleep," Charlie admitted. "I guess I was hoping that coming away with you... I mean, we had such a lovely day... I thought I'd..."

She trailed off, feeling ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

Joey leant forward and kissed her.

"Honestly, you don't need to say sorry. Let me get you a glass of water."

Charlie nodded.

"I'll come out with you," she said. "I don't think I'm going to get back to sleep for a while."

Joey nodded and led her out of the cabin bedroom and into the small kitchen and living area. Joey poured them both some water.

"Where would you like to go?" she asked. "We can chill in here or up on deck."

"Oh, you don't have to stay with me," Charlie said, touched that Joey cared so much.

Joey handed the water over and flashed a smile.

"You're scared," she said. "Where else would I be?"

Charlie was flattered. She reached out and squeezed Joey's hand.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" she asked. "I can't even think of one thing!"

"You loved me," Joey said sincerely.

Struggling not to become tearful again, Charlie shifted closer and brushed her lips gently against Joey's.

"Let's go up on deck," she suggested when they parted.

"Okay," Joey agreed readily.

She was pretty much willing to do anything that made Charlie happy.

"Oh, do you mind me...?"

Charlie stood up and gestured to the fact that she was only in the lower part of her underwear. Her burns got too sore, especially when she slept, if they spent too long in contact with clothes. Joey smirked at her.

"Is that even a question?"

Charlie giggled and led the way up to the open deck of the boat, grateful for the cool breeze in the night. Joey arrived after her, with a tube of Charlie's cream in her hands.

"You thrashed around," she said. "Your back's looking pretty sore."

Charlie nodded and sat forward on one of the deck chairs. Joey crouched down beside her and began to massage the cream into her skin. Charlie sipped her water and closed her eyes, allowing Joey to take care of her. She sighed contentedly as Joey touched her gently. When she was done, Joey put the lid on the cream and moved round so that she was kneeling in front of her girlfriend. Charlie opened up her bright, blue eyes again, gazing at Joey.

"You never have to apologise for being in pain, okay?" Joey said gently. "Physically or emotionally."

Charlie nodded and kissed her, still wondering how life could hurt so much on the one hand and yet surprise her with so much beauty and joy on the other.


	17. Chapter 17

_Okay, chapter thirteen has been edited slightly as it said in that chapter that Joey had been told about Ruby being Charlie's daughter and that needed to be changed. Otherwise, please enjoy the latest instalment. Ten chapters to go!_

**Chapter Seventeen**

It was Friday and Charlie and Joey were reluctantly preparing to return to Summer Bay. Charlie felt, after her nightmare with Hugo, that she had been living in some kind of happy dream for the past few days. Joey was everything she'd imagined she would be. And she'd pampered her wonderfully. They'd talked, they'd laughed, Joey had been very gentle with her injuries and Charlie's skin was now starting to heal. She'd learnt a little more about running a boat and she'd embarrassed Joey by cooing over the fact that the boat was called Charlie. They'd made love several times and even though parts of it had been awkward due to Charlie's burns, overall it had been amazing. Charlie was particularly eager to heal quicker so she could resume the full relationship that she wanted with her girlfriend. But in a lot of ways, it was nice to have to take things that little bit slower. It meant lots of talking and being honest about how they felt about what had happened between them – the good and the bad – and what they wanted for their future.

"How are you feeling about coming home?" Joey asked as they sat down to lunch together.

"I want to see Ruby but..."

Charlie trailed off and shook her head. She didn't want to go home.

"What is it that's worrying you?" Joey asked, wanting a clear picture so she could help.

She couldn't help but fret a little that Charlie would struggle to be with her when they were faced with gossip again.

"I just know that I've got to go back and face reality. I mean, there'll be a lot of stuff going on to wrap this investigation up. We've got the human trafficking ring to lock up, Hugo's death to investigate... There's going to be a lot of unrest. A lot of hurt."

"But you don't have to go back right away, do you?" Joey asked worriedly, aware that Charlie hadn't healed completely yet.

"No, not yet but it'll go on for long enough that I think I'll still be involved," she replied.

Joey nodded. She reached out to hold her hand, which was mostly back to normal.

"Are you feeling awkward about anything else?" she asked, searching Charlie's eyes for comfort and confirmation that everything would be okay.

Reading her expression, Charlie reached out to hold her. She kissed the top of her head and stroked her face.

"The one good thing that came out of all of this is that I got your back," she said certainly. "I can assure you that I'm not going to make the same mistakes again. I'm proud to be able to call you my girlfriend, Joey."

They smiled lovingly at each other. Then Charlie looked a little worried.

"I can call you my girlfriend, can't I?"

Joey continued to smile.

"Do you think I whisk just anyone away on my boat and make love to them?" she teased.

Charlie blushed and kissed her.

"I hope not!" she said.

"I don't," Joey assured her. "You're the first and only girl I've ever been in love with. And I've pretty much been a loner since I lost you."

Charlie tried not to be pleased.

"Has there been anyone...?" she asked anxiously.

"I've kissed a few girls here and there," Joey admitted. "But nothing more than that. And nobody more than once. I... I haven't done so well in maintaining relationships, I guess. The only reason I could... you know, be with you was because... well, because you knew what had happened to me and I trusted you and..."

Guilt hit Charlie and waves. Joey had trusted her with something so special and Charlie had only let her down.

"I guess I don't find it easy to get close to people," Joey said. "But I feel like that's changing now. With you."

Charlie gazed at her adoringly, wondering how she'd ever got so lucky twice over, as to have someone like Joey fall in love with her.

"I love you, Charlie," Joey added. "And if you want me to, I'd like to stay in Summer Bay."

Charlie was elated.

"I really, really want you to stay," she said. "If this is a second chance then I want to get it right this time."

They kissed gently. When they broke apart, Charlie looked down and took a deep breath.

"There's just..."

Joey looked worried. Charlie sighed and held her hands.

"There's some stuff I have to tell you."

* * *

Two hours later, with their plans to return to the Bay temporarily on hold, Joey was just about managing to deal with the news of everything that had happened. Charlie had blurted a lot of things out during the rescue mission but none of it had made that much sense. Now, it did. Ruby was Charlie's daughter and Charlie had been raped at the tender age of fourteen by her boyfriend. He was now dead and Ross was facing court for his murder.

"Is it too much?" Charlie asked worriedly, studying Joey's face.

"What? No," Joey said, shaking her head. "I mean, you said a few things when you were delirious. It's kind of good to have them explained. It's just... wow."

Charlie nodded, still feeling anxious. Noting her stress, Joey shifted and pulled Charlie into a gentle hug.

"You haven't done anything wrong, Charlie," she said. "None of what happened was your fault."

"Ruby hasn't always thought so," Charlie pointed out.

"Well, she seems okay with you now," Joey said. "She's been so supportive since..."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed. "I hope this has been a turning point. I still miss her though."

"Well, maybe in time, she'll move back in with you," Joey said hopefully.

Charlie nodded, also hoping that Joey was right.

"So, all of this is okay with you?" she asked. "Ruby being my daughter? The lies I told?"

"I understand why you lied," Joey assured her. "I can't even begin to imagine what I would have done if..."

She shuddered at the memories. Charlie lifted Joey's hand and kissed it.

"How about we start all over again?" Joey suggested brightly.

"What do you mean?"

"We forget the past and move on. We're together, we're in love and we're going to build a future together. Ruby's your daughter and... well, I guess that makes her my step-daughter... sort of. But we'll go home, pick our lives back up and start afresh."

Charlie smiled.

"You know, I think you're actually perfect," she said. "And just in case I haven't said it enough, I love you. And I really do want to spend the rest of my life with you."

They kissed gently, immediately getting carried away.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Charlie and Joey had arrived back later than they'd intended and both were ready to collapse into bed the moment they got in. Ruby, however, had insisted on staying up to see them. She was pleased with the obvious recovery Charlie was making. Her skin was still red and patchy and clearly still sore but she looked a million times better than she had before she'd left.

"Did you have a good time?" she asked, eagerly anticipating the answer.

Both women nodded and held hands. Ruby grinned.

"And I presume that means you're officially back together and living on cloud nine?"

Charlie chuckled. She placed a gentle kiss on Joey's cheek and confirmed that Ruby was right.

"So, what did you get up to?" Ruby asked. "Or don't I want to know?"

Joey blushed and Charlie snorted.

"We talked lots," Ruby's mother said. "Joey knows absolutely everything that's happened since she's been gone. We talked about why we broke up and what we've both been doing since. And we're definitely giving it another shot. And I really feel like we have a proper chance this time."

She beamed at her daughter and then at her girlfriend.

"So, um... when you say everything..." Ruby ventured.

"Just call me step-mum," Joey smirked.

Ruby laughed and hugged her.

"I'm really happy for you guys," she said.

"So, what have we missed?" Charlie asked. "Anything exciting?"

Ruby sighed heavily and sank back in her chair, wondering where to start. Charlie was immediately worried.

"Ruby, what's happened?" Charlie asked.

"There was kind of... a... um... well, a riot," the youngest Buckton ventured.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Taking a deep breath, Ruby explained about the celebrations that had turned into mayhem and, riled up by the human trafficking disaster, racism had reared its ugly head. The guy that Leah had started seeing was in hospital and would be for a long time. Leah was a mess and hardly anyone had seen her since. The Diner had all but burnt down and a lot of people had been hurt. She shuddered as she told the story. Charlie reached out to hold her hand, apologising for not being there.

"It's not your fault, Charlie," Ruby said. "If anything, it's mine."

She then, more timidly, revealed how she had got a bee in her bonnet about the whole thing and unwittingly stirred up trouble. She then added, with a lot of sadness, that Geoff had been very cold and snappy with her since and she feared the spell of their romance might be broken. Charlie hugged her awkwardly, careful of her injuries.

"I'm sorry, darling," she said gently. "I wish I'd been there to help you."

"Well, I'm glad you weren't," Ruby said. "You're not well enough to have helped. And you might have got hurt. And you really, really needed this time to rebuild things with Joey. And to heal."

She smiled and hugged Charlie a little tighter. Joey smiled as the girls told each other they loved each other.

* * *

When Ruby had gone up to bed, Charlie and Joey gazed lovingly at each other.

"Well, um... I guess I'd better head home..." Joey ventured.

Charlie stepped forward, placing her hands on her hips.

"Do you have to?" she asked.

After so many nights together, it felt sad to part now.

"No," Joey smiled. "Not if you don't want me to. I just didn't want to be presumptuous."

Charlie pulled her closer and kissed her tenderly.

"Joey Collins," she said. "You can be as presumptuous as you like."

Joey giggled and kissed her again, taking her hand and leading her to the bedroom they both knew so well.

* * *

Joey was up bright and early the next morning. Leaving a still sleepy Charlie in bed, she headed out to the kitchen to make them both some coffee. It had been another night of nightmares, although at least to a lesser degree and Joey hoped she had been as supportive as possible. She'd managed to calm her down and send her back off to sleep at least. She was just about to take the drinks back into the bedroom when Leah appeared, screamed and caused Joey to drop the mugs.

"I'm so sorry!" Leah said when she'd recovered.

Joey couldn't help but notice that she was shaking.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We should have let you know we were back. Sorry, Leah. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's okay," she said.

They both bent to clear up the mess, both still apologising.

"I've just been a bit jumpy lately," Leah said.

Joey nodded and said that Ruby had told her what had happened while she and Charlie had been away.

"I'll make you guys some more coffee," Leah offered.

"I'll make it," Joey said, guiding her into a chair. "And I'll make you a cup too. Would you like some breakfast?"

* * *

Charlie woke with a start. The sheets brushing against her skin made her wince and she was unhappily aware that she was alone. Hauling herself out of bed, she pulled her robe loosely around her and headed through the house, finding Joey talking to Leah in the kitchen.

"Morning," Joey said brightly, gazing adoringly at her girlfriend.

Charlie smiled back. Leah giggled and told them they were cute.

"Did you have a good time away?" Leah asked.

"Yeah, it was brilliant," Charlie said.

She moved to help Joey with breakfast but only succeeded in being told to sit down. Feeling very loved, Charlie obeyed, so glad that despite everything, things had led to this moment. She didn't think she could have survived any of this without Joey looking after her.

* * *

The afternoon rolled around and Charlie just about managed to psyche herself up to go to the police station and find out what had been happening in her absence. She still had a fortnight of sick leave left and she was intent on taking all of it and recovering properly, as well as taking as much time to reconnect with Joey as she could.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in?" Joey asked in the passenger seat.

She wanted to be supportive without crowding her. Charlie nodded, thanked and kissed her before climbing out of the car and walking through the doors of the station. She was comforted by everything looking the same. Although Charlie felt different and like she had lived a thousand lives since the last time she'd been here, everything else was the same. Watson was on reception. They looked at each other and smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Watson asked eagerly.

"Still a little bit rough," Charlie admitted. "But better. The time away did me a lot of good."

Watson smiled, relieved.

"How are you? How have things been?"

"Eventful," Watson said, exhaling loudly.

Charlie eyed her with curiosity. Hearing footsteps behind her, Charlie turned and saw Angelo in regular uniform again for the first time since he'd been sent away.

"Hey," she managed.

"Hi," he replied stiffly.

Neither of them had been quite prepared to see each other.

"So, you're sticking around?" Charlie asked.

They had both been aware, before the Hugo saga had concluded, that Angelo might be sent away once his mission was complete.

"Yeah," he said. "I've been posted here permanently. As your new Sergeant."

Charlie's eyes widened in surprise.

"Seriously?"

"Yep," he said before strolling away.

Charlie turned back to Watson in sheer confusion.

"Don't even ask," Watson sighed. "I have no idea how this happened. If anyone was going to get promoted, it should have been you."

Charlie sighed, very unsure about the prospect of having her ex-boyfriend as her boss.

"What about... you know, what happened with Hugo and everything?"

"They made all the right noises about investigating his death but they decided there was no case to answer," Watson explained.

"He shot him."

"I know," Watson said. "But Hugo was the villain of the piece. Angelo claims he believed his life was in danger and..."

She sighed, still not entirely comfortable with Sergeant Angelo Rosetta hanging around long term.

"They've just dismissed the whole thing," she said. "It's over."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Two weeks later, Charlie was preparing to go back to work. Her burns had healed and she was starting to feel a little better about herself. Joey's constant affection and TLC helped a great deal. She was also encouraged by the fact that Ruby had expressed no regret over moving back in. She'd said she hated how close she had come to losing her when things weren't quite back on track but that she wanted to make things work now so they could figure out what kind of relationship they wanted with one another. Charlie was secretly hoping to get to be her Mum but she was determined to have patience and meet Ruby wherever she was at. Arriving in the kitchen, Charlie giggled as Joey wolf whistled at her uniform. Walking across the room, Charlie pulled Joey into her arms and kissed her.

"Have I mentioned how hot you look in that thing?" Joey asked.

Charlie blushed and was pleased that it was visible on her face at last, now that her skin had finally calmed down and wasn't so sore.

"No," she lied. "You've never mentioned it."

Joey moved in closer. She brushed her lips against Charlie's.

"You look extremely hot in uniform," she purred.

She traced her lips down to Charlie's neck, running her fingertips up and down her spine.

"Absolutely delicious," she said.

She returned her mouth to Charlie's.

"And I cannot wait to strip you out of it when you get home."

Charlie giggled like a teenager, also extremely excited at such a prospect. They pulled apart when a car beeped outside.

"That'll be Watson," Charlie said.

Joey nodded and handed over a little packed lunch for her girlfriend. Charlie thanked her, kissed her one more time and then headed out to work.

* * *

By mid-morning, when Leah hadn't yet surfaced, Joey brought her up a cup of tea and told her to get dressed because they were having a daytrip.

"I'd really like to stay here," the Diner owner said.

Joey opened the curtains and let the sunshine in. Leah complained but Joey was determined not to take no for an answer. She and Charlie were both concerned that their friend hadn't left the house in weeks. They'd plotted the night before that Joey was going to take Leah out on the boat for a few hours to get her some fresh air, without the stress of seeing people and having to interact. The riot had shaken her up to say the least and she seemed so afraid of the world around her. Charlie and Joey could both relate for different reasons and they both wanted to take care of her.

"Where are we going?" Leah wondered, sipping her tea grudgingly.

She'd sent VJ to spend a few days with Stella and she was glad for the rest and the chance to indulge in some self pity. But apparently, Joey was having none of it.

"I'm taking you out on my boat," Joey announced.

She hadn't moved into the house exactly. She spent half the week on her _Charlie _and the rest of it in the real Charlie's room but she didn't want them to rush things. However, she had made herself comfortable and she felt that things were going really well.

* * *

Charlie sat at her desk, buried under a mountain of paperwork. In her absence, she had been moved to the smaller office, at the back of the building. She had been promoted to Leading Senior Constable, which entitled her to a private space of her own to work. But Angelo had been promoted to Sergeant and was now permanently in charge of the station. He had taken over her office with some eagerness and now Charlie felt a little shunned to say the least. She knew her ex-boyfriend had hoped that bringing the human trafficking ring down would win him a place in the hearts of the locals but nothing had exactly gone to plan. From what Charlie had managed to pick up – which was surprisingly difficult without Colleen working in the Diner – Angelo was far from the most popular man in town. Martha, Gina, Xavier and Alf all held him responsible for Hugo's death, despite his claims of self-defence. And the fact that the shooting had barely been noted by the police only upset them more. Watson and a lot of their colleagues were also somewhat irritated by the promotion. One promotion would have been one thing but to leap up to Sergeant, when technically, it was only through a deal that he was still on the police force at all, was more than a little wrong as far as they were concerned. And it had been Charlie who had found the immigrants in the shipping container. If she hadn't set them free, a lot more people would be dead. But her heroics had barely been recognised. Stretching, Charlie glanced at her watch. She had four hours until she could go home to Joey and she could hardly wait.

* * *

"See, this is fun, right?" Joey encouraged.

She and Leah were out on the ocean and despite her anxiety, Leah was having a nice time. And Joey was very good company. It was nice to have her back in the Bay and Leah hoped she would be sticking around for a long time.

"It is," she agreed. "Thank you."

"So, do you want to talk about it?" Joey asked.

Leah shook her head. She didn't know what to say. This wasn't something she had ever experienced before. She had always been lively and outgoing and sure of herself.

"Tell me about you instead," she suggested.

Joey looked shy.

"What about me?" she asked.

"Are things going well with Charlie? Are you sticking around?"

"Yes and yes," Joey replied. "I've got a permanent space for the boat and I'll live here for the foreseeable."

"I'm really happy that you're home, Joey," Leah said honestly. "Charlie's been a mess since you've been gone."

Joey couldn't help but wonder how Charlie had actually been. She'd claimed to have been miserable, but she had been dating Angelo. And she'd slept with him for the first time only two months after Joey had left. That didn't suggest that she'd been waiting for her. Still, Joey supposed that she couldn't complain. It wasn't as if she had actually come home when she'd promised. She'd meant to. She'd always planned on it. But when it had come to the crunch, she couldn't take that risk. She couldn't get her heart broken again. And it seemed like she might well have. Charlie had been messed up to say the least when Joey had been due back. She was dating Angelo and everything had spiralled out of control with Ruby finding out that Charlie was actually her mother instead of her sister.

"I really missed her," she said sadly.

"She tried to make things work with Angelo but I think we all knew her heart was never in it," Leah ventured. "She missed you too much. She loved you."

"I'm just glad that I finally decided to come back when I did," Joey said. "If she'd have been on that island any longer..."

She trailed off, hardly able to bear the thought. Leah smiled encouragingly.

"You've saved her," she said. "In more than one way."

* * *

Five minutes before her shift was due to end, Charlie could hardly bear to stay at work any longer. She was desperate to pack up and get home to her girlfriend. Images of their morning flirtation and affection fluttered through her mind. She smiled, so grateful that life had given her a second chance. Putting her stuff in her bag, she stood up but paused abruptly when she found Angelo in the doorway, blocking her exit.

"How long have you been there?" she asked, visibly shrinking back.

"Your shift hasn't finished yet," Angelo told her, ignoring the question.

"Oh, come on," Charlie protested.

She looked at her watch again.

"I've got like two minutes to go!"

"Two minutes that you should be working," Angelo replied.

Charlie rolled her eyes, aggravated.

"You're seriously going to penalise me for leaving work two minutes early?" she asked.

"They're not my rules," he said. "I just have to follow them – like we all do."

She stared at him. He was almost unrecognisable from the man she had once known, the man she had once cared so much about. She still cared about him now. But when it came down to a choice between living a lie with him and admitting her love for Joey, there was no option. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Joey, even if that made things awkward at work. Charlie was certain that she was worth it.

* * *

By the time Charlie returned home from work, Joey was already cooking dinner for the whole family. She and Leah had gone to collect VJ from Stella's and Leah was secretly very proud to have spent so many hours out of the house. She was also very grateful to Joey for her help.

"Hey, beautiful," Joey said, pausing in her stirring of the pot to give her a hug and a kiss.

"Hey," Charlie replied happily. "How was your day?"

"We made progress," Joey said cheerfully. "How was your first day back at work?"

Charlie sighed heavily.

"Well, that doesn't sound good," Joey said, guiding her into a chair.

"It was fine," Charlie said. "But right at the last minute... well, I don't think working for Angelo is going to be a big, fun time."

Joey smiled sympathetically and squeezed her girlfriend's hand.

"I guess it'll take some time for things to settle down between the two of you," Joey mused. "I mean, you've been together for a good few months and you had history before that. And I get the impression that he really didn't see the break up coming."

"You've got that right," Charlie sighed.

In a lot of ways, she hadn't seen it either. And she supposed she'd probably still be with him if Joey hadn't shown up. While she hadn't been in love with Angelo by any stretch of the imagination, she had been happy to coast along with him. But, thinking about it now, she realised that he hadn't been going through the motions with her. He'd fallen in love with her and he'd wanted them to get more and more serious. She'd never wanted to hurt him but she'd made too many mistakes in life to turn back now. For the first time, she was willing to forget what anyone may or may not think of her, not over-think or analyse anything, and just follow her heart... the heart that belonged to Joey.

"Are you alright?" her girlfriend asked worriedly.

Charlie nodded and pulled her into her arms.

"You do know how happy you make me, don't you?" she asked.

Joey beamed at her. Charlie could almost feel the love pouring out of her.

"I do," Joey said softly, bending to kiss her gently on the mouth. "And I hope you know that I feel exactly the same."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Three weeks had passed and Charlie was starting to feel normal again, for the most part. Work was difficult to say the least. With Angelo being her ex-boyfriend and her superior, he was making her job much harder. She wasn't sure if she was being paranoid or not but she seemed to always get the dirtier jobs and if she wasn't out doing them, she was stuck with an excess of paperwork. It didn't seem fair and her minor promotion didn't seem to mean anything. Still, she looked forward to coming home at the end of the day and spending time with Ruby and Joey. Words couldn't express how delighted she was at having her daughter back living with her. And her relationship with Joey was definitely going from strength to strength. With Joey in her current position – doing well for herself with her compensation money and having her own accommodation that she loved, she knew her girlfriend felt like they were on more equal footing. Once upon a time, Charlie had been the person who had rescued her and brought her to life. Now she felt like much more of a whole person and she had of course, literally saved Charlie's life in return. They spent most nights together, either on the boat or at the house and everything was working better than Charlie had ever known a relationship to work before. Today, she had a nine to five shift and then she was looking forward to having dinner with Joey. At her desk, her phone rang. She smiled when she saw her girlfriend's name flash up.

"Hey, darling," she greeted warmly.

"Hey," Joey said happily. "How's your day going?"

Charlie glanced at her watch and informed her that it was nearly over.

"Paperwork?" Joey asked.

She was trying not to be critical of Angelo but it did seem, from what Charlie had told her, that she was being victimised for not being in love with him.

"Got it in one," Charlie said, twirling her pen around her fingers and promptly dropping it.

"Listen, when you finish work, head straight home and get changed and then meet me on the boat," Joey instructed. "And um... dressing up would be nice."

Charlie could almost hear her smile. Intrigued, she asked what she was up to.

"It's a surprise," Joey informed her. "I um... I have some news."

Charlie grinned.

"Really? What news?"

"That's the surprise, silly!" Joey teased.

Charlie laughed.

"Well, then I very much look forward to another beautiful night with you."

A figure in the doorway cleared his throat. Charlie knew it was Angelo without looking at him. Sighing, she told Joey she had to go.

"Okay," Joey said. "See you soon. I love you."

"I love you too."

Angelo grimaced as Charlie hung up the phone. For the months they had been together, Charlie had not once told him she loved him. She had once referred to him as 'someone she loved' but 'I love you' had never passed her lips. It hurt to hear her say it so easily to someone else.

"Can I help you?" the Leading Senior Constable asked.

"I need you to work late," he said.

"Why?" Charlie demanded angrily.

"Because we've got a lot on," he said.

"Angelo, we don't have a lot on. If we did, you wouldn't be banishing me every day to damn paperwork," she snapped bitterly.

He shrugged and told her that she'd get paid for her time.

"I'm not working late and you can't force me to," she told him firmly.

"I think I just did," Angelo replied.

* * *

It was approaching six o'clock and Joey was eagerly looking out for Charlie to appear. She'd had some good news and she was looking forward to sharing it with Charlie, over a romantic meal she had gone to a lot of effort to cook. According to the weather report, it was going to be a cloudless night where you could see a lot of constellations so Joey was hoping to take the boat out, eat their meal and spend a lovely night with Charlie under the stars. Unfortunately, Charlie was late. Joey found it most irritating that she had such shoddy mobile reception at home.

* * *

Clock watching and very aware that actually, there was no big rush on and Angelo was just trying to wind her up, Charlie finally had enough. Standing up, she grabbed her stuff and stormed out of her office towards the exit.

"Hey!" Angelo yelled from behind. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Charlie whirled around angrily.

"Home!" she yelled back at equal volume.

"I told you that you had to work late," Angelo insisted.

"And I'm telling you that you're full of crap," Charlie snapped. "This place is dead. There is absolutely no reason for me to be doing overtime tonight!"

"You'll do overtime because I tell you that you've got to. I'm your boss and it's not for you to question me!"

"Well, you know what, I don't think you're a very good boss. I don't think you're a very good person. And I'm leaving."

She turned to leave.

"If you walk out that door you will be on report," Angelo warned.

Charlie turned abruptly and gave him the finger before storming out. Feeling humiliated by the way everyone was staring at him, Angelo stormed out after her. She was just on the way to her car when he caught up and grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, spinning her back round.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Charlie snapped.

"I'm not joking about reporting you," Angelo told her.

"Well, you'd better watch I don't report you for being heavy handed and for victimising me at work," Charlie countered.

"I'm not the one who's done something wrong here, Charlie."

"Really?"

"You've disobeyed orders!"

"You shot someone dead but nobody seems to give a shit about that!"

"That's not fair!"

"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot. It was self defence, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was," Angelo lied. "And if you remember, I was doing everything I could to save your life."

"No you weren't!" Charlie exclaimed. "You hadn't even noticed that I'd gone! You did nothing to save me. You sailed past me and Joey when she was trying to flag you down for help."

"I didn't know it was you!"

"You are a police officer! The fact that you ignore anyone calling for help is unforgiveable," Charlie pointed out.

"I was trying to save you."

"Well, you failed," Charlie said, turning to walk away again.

He ran to catch up with her as she unlocked her car. He held the door open, staring at her intently.

"You know, all this is going to fall flat," he said.

"What are you talking about now?" she asked, exasperated.

"This Joey girl sailed in like the big hero," he said. "She saved your life and now you feel you owe her something but you don't."

"That's not why I'm with her," Charlie said.

"Of course it is," he snarled. "She's all shiny and new and you're carried away. But you won't last. You'll get bored of her quickly and if you're lucky, you might just have another shot with me. But don't leave it too long. As soon as you make your next mistake, she'll abandon you like she did before. And you will make a mistake, Charlie. I know you. I know you better than anyone and there is no way that a relationship with a woman will ever be able to satisfy you in the long term. You'll want more. You'll want a man. You'll want me."

Charlie offered him her dirtiest look, entirely unable to even dignify him with a reply. She pulled the door shut, nearly trapping his fingers and speeding away as quickly as she could.

* * *

Joey had wandered away to try and phone Charlie a few times but she hadn't picked up. Disappointed, she returned to the boat, observing her nearly ruined food with sadness. In a sneak text, Charlie had promised to be there by half past five at the latest and she hadn't been in touch. She wondered where she had got to and if she was alright.

* * *

Charlie didn't bother going home to get changed. Knowing she was unforgivably late, she pulled up down at the docks and hurried to the boat she now saw as her second home. Hurrying on board, she called Joey's name, just in time to see her tossing the ruined food in the bin.

"Joey, I'm so sorry," she said.

Joey offered a fragile smile and shrugged.

"It's okay," she said.

Charlie stepped forward and hugged her, apologising again sincerely.

"What kept you?" Joey wanted to know.

"Angelo," Charlie said sourly. "He's been an arsehole all day and he kept me back late. He was watching me like a hawk so I couldn't call and..."

"And you couldn't pick up calls?"

"What?"

Reaching into her pocket, she saw that she had four missed calls from Joey and the phone was on silent, something she distinctly didn't remember doing.

"Sorry," she said again.

Joey managed a smile.

"It's okay," she said more convincingly.

"But I ruined your plans," Charlie frowned. "And you went to all this effort. And your news..."

"We've still got dessert," Joey said with a wink.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One**

Charlie and Joey took out the homemade chocolate mousses that Joey had spent a lot of time over, out onto the deck of _Charlie _to eat them in the moonlight. They'd chatted as Joey had taken them further out onto the water but Joey had point blank refused to share her news just yet. Now, curled up in the same chair, eating their dessert and gazing up at the stars together, Charlie was eager to find out.

"I got a job," Joey said with a big smile.

"Are you serious?" Charlie asked.

She was a little surprised. Joey wasn't exactly rich but it would be a long time before she needed to start working for money. The compensation had been very hefty, which, given the nature of Joey's accident – something that had left her in hospital for over a month – had enabled her to live a more free spirited lifestyle.

"Yeah," Joey said. "I was in the Diner this morning and got chatting to Irene and she's hired me to fix up Lou's old trawler. She's basically given me free reign over it. I can build it back up, manage the business for her, hire crew. I'm set."

Charlie smiled, knowing just how much Joey loved working on a fishing trawler. It wasn't something she necessarily understood but she was happy that her girlfriend was happy.

"What do you think?" Joey asked, eager for Charlie's opinion.

It mattered to her a great deal.

"I think it's fantastic," Charlie told her. "Congratulations."

She leant in and kissed her.

"Part of me thinks I'm crazy," Joey admitted. "I've had enough bad trawler experiences to make me consider staying away from them forever but... well, you know how much I love the work. And this time around it's going to be more exciting, I'll have more responsibility. It's going to be so awesome, Charlie. I'm going to catch up with Aden tomorrow and ask him to be on my crew."

"That sounds like a great idea," Charlie said. "I'm proud of you. I wasn't expecting that you'd need a job for a while."

"I don't," Joey admitted. "But hanging out on the boat and drifting from one place to the next was good for a while. I've really enjoyed these last few months. But I have a different life now."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked a little worriedly.

"Well, I'm settled," Joey said, sounding a little nervous. "I'm staying in the Bay and I'm with you and, well, it feels like the right time to put down some roots. Be a proper grown up."

She grinned. Charlie laughed and kissed her gently on the mouth.

"I'm very glad that you've decided to stay," she admitted.

"I've only just got you back, Charlie," Joey said. "I'm not about to leave you again. I need you."

* * *

Charlie had ended up staying the night on the boat, a place that was fast becoming her second home. She'd never been a boat kind of person before but she found the gentle motion of the water strangely calming and she was learning to understand why Joey was so in love with the sea. And, of course, having Joey with her through the night – wherever they were – made her extremely happy. The next morning, she and Joey headed out for a run on the beach. It felt like old times as they charged across the sand, eagerly competing. Giggling uproariously, Joey crashed onto the sand, jubilantly declaring herself the winner.

"You cheated!" Charlie yelled, crashing down beside her.

"And how did I do that?"

"Because you were distracting me by looking so hot!" Charlie smirked.

Joey blushed.

"How exactly?" she asked. "I wasn't even looking at you. You know, because I was in front and all that!"

She poked her tongue out at her girlfriend.

"You look pretty damn hot from behind too," Charlie pointed out.

Joey's blush deepened.

"Then I definitely wasn't cheating," she told her. "Because if you were already behind me, I was going to win anyway!"

She looked even more jubilant as Charlie helped her prove her point. Charlie opened her mouth to object but she couldn't think of an argument.  
"I win! I win!" Joey sang, sitting up and jigging the top half of her body around in a celebratory dance.

Charlie was instantly mesmerised. Moving quickly, she rolled over, straddling Joey and pinning her to the floor. She held her hands above her head, gazing into her eyes as they both tried to regulate their breathing.

In the uniform he was so proud of, Angelo stood on the beach, grimacing as he watched his ex and her new girlfriend frolic on the sand. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stormed up to them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

Charlie pulled abruptly away from Joey's lips and looked up at him, shielding her eyes from the sun as he towered over them.

"What's it got to do with you?" Joey wanted to know.

"Well, I'm the local Sergeant of this town, in case you hadn't noticed and there's such a thing about public decency laws."

"We're not doing anything wrong," Charlie said.

She'd spent a fair amount of time the previous evening, complaining to Joey about how she was being treated unfairly at work. Joey's suggestion had been to complain to his superior. It was something she was still thinking about. She didn't want to hurt him but he was weakening her resolve with every passing day.

"This is a family place," he said. "And you're on a public beach. I could easily and happily charge you for having sex out here."

Joey opened her mouth to start yelling at him, defensive that she and Charlie hadn't done anything wrong, but Charlie cut in.

"I'm really not sure what you think lesbian sex entails but both parties being fully clothed and holding hands doesn't even come close in my book."

Joey stared at her girlfriend in amazement. Everyone knew now that she and Charlie were an item and there had been surprisingly little hassle, minus the Angelo aspect. But she hadn't quite expected her to defend them so easily and so well. Angelo's fury only increased, especially when a couple of women, holding hands and strolling across the beach, laughed. They'd obviously been listening in. Giving Charlie and Joey the nod of recognition, they continued on their way.

"Well, stop it," Angelo snapped lamely before storming off.

Charlie and Joey couldn't help but laugh. And silently, Charlie resolved to ensure that she did make a complaint for harassment and unfair treatment at work. She watched him go for a moment and then, still straddling Joey, leant in and kissed her again.

"I'm proud of you," Joey said honestly.

Charlie smiled. It was strange really. Once upon a time, she had been so afraid of being honest and coming out but now, with Joey, she felt like she could take on the whole world and win.

"Proud enough to say I won?" Charlie asked cheekily.

Joey shook her head. They reluctantly got up and began to walk slowly back up the beach.

"So, do I owe you that juice we set the wager on?" Charlie wondered grumpily.

Joey paused and pulled her into her arms, kissing her yet again.

"Nope," she said. "I think I'd like to learn more about this book you mentioned."

Charlie blushed as Joey grinned so wickedly.

"And maybe get a demonstration?"

Giggling, they hurried back towards Joey's boat.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two**

Back on the boat, Charlie and Joey tumbled onto the bed, tangled up in each other, giggling and kissing. Charlie trailed kisses down Joey's neck and her hands immediately began to wander. She cupped Joey's breasts and closed her eyes, listening to Joey moan in pleasure. All she wanted to do was peel her clothes of and show her again and again how much she loved her. Any discomfort she had ever had, had evaporated a long time ago.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

Joey ran her hands through Charlie's hair, pulling her closer to kiss her again. She rolled them gently over, straddling Charlie's hips and very glad that she was no longer suffering with burns. She leant closer, stroking her fingertips up and down her body.

"How long until you have to go to work?" she asked.

Charlie glanced at her watch.

"Not for two hours yet," she assured her.

Joey grinned happily, eager to begin shedding Charlie of her clothes.

* * *

A while later, Charlie crept back up Joey's body and settled against her. She tenderly reached out and stroked her arm, loving the smile on Joey's lips. Shifting again, she kissed her, gazing lovingly into her arms.

"Your book is good!" Joey remarked cheekily.

Charlie laughed. She moved so that she was lying directly on top of her girlfriend.

"Your book is pretty damn hot too," she said.

Joey beamed at her, wondering how she ever so lucky as to be here with Charlie like this. They kissed softly, wrapping their arms around each other, oblivious to the world around them.

* * *

Angelo was sat at his desk, not so much working as checking the door. Charlie was due to start her shift in forty five minutes. It made him sick to think of what she and Joey might be getting up to. This certainly wasn't how he'd expected life to turn out. Once he'd got out of jail, life had been hard to say the least. But he'd worked to redeem himself. Getting involved in the human trafficking case had been a blessing at first but now he was bitter over it not turning out how he'd wanted. He'd shot another man dead and while he had been cleared of any charges, any popularity he had begun to build up in the Bay again, was over. Martha hated him and so did her family. Charlie had been his last remaining hold on the town he called home. She was so popular with the locals that they'd got used to him and accepted him. But now she couldn't bear him either, not now that she was running around with Joey without a care in the world, he was even more permanently shunned. It wasn't fair and he was sure it wasn't his fault. Charlie had done wrong by him and he felt entirely justified for making things difficult for her. Why should she be happy when he was so damn miserable?

* * *

"I really, really have to go to work," Charlie groaned unhappily.

She and Joey had eventually disentangled themselves from each other and managed to shower. Now Charlie was dressed in the spare uniform she kept at Joey's place, but somehow, they'd ended up making out on the bed. The clock was ticking and Charlie really didn't want to leave her.

"Call in sick?" Joey asked hopefully, refusing to release Charlie from her embrace.

"Somehow, I don't think I'm going to get away with that!" Charlie laughed.

Joey pouted. Charlie leant in and kissed her.

"See you tonight?" the police officer asked.

"Count on it," Joey replied.

* * *

Angelo was in Charlie's cramped office the moment she arrived at work. She sighed heavily the moment she saw him.

"How the hell could you do that to me?" he demanded. "I know we're not together anymore but don't you care even a little bit?"

"Excuse me?" Charlie exclaimed, looking up sharply from her laptop.

"How would you feel if I'd dumped you and then shoved it in your face that I was with someone else?" Angelo asked. "I thought better of you."

"I wasn't shoving it in your face," Charlie insisted.

"You were making out with her right in front of me!"

"We didn't know you were there until you barged over!" Charlie said. "I can't look around and check you're absolutely nowhere in sight whenever I want to hold her hand or..."

"You were on top of her, Charlie," Angelo said desperately. "It's not fair. You might not want to be with me anymore but you're being cruel by the way you're behaving. Life is hard enough as it is without..."

He sighed heavily. Charlie felt a little guilty. Angelo had been there for her during everything with Ruby and it wasn't really his fault that she couldn't fall in love with him. Joey had already stolen her heart and as hard as she had tried, it was never going to happen with Angelo. And he had tried to save her life, for the most part. He'd got it wrong and been so pigheaded that it could have cost her life, but he'd tried. She didn't want to demonise him but at the same time, his treatment of her since she'd returned to work had been appalling and unprofessional.

"Look, I don't want to fight with you," she said. "Can't we just draw a line under everything and move on?"

"I don't know how," Angelo admitted. "I love you so much, Charlie..."

"I don't want to hear that, Angelo," she said firmly.

He sighed and nodded, silently leaving the office.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Charlie was surprised, when she finished work and arrived at Joey's boat, to find her daughter there too. Joey and Ruby were cooking together in Joey's little kitchen.

"What's all this?" Charlie asked curiously.

Ruby promptly burst into tears and fell against her mother. Charlie held her but her eyes widened in surprise. Joey mouthed the word 'break up' over Ruby's shoulder. Compassionately, Charlie hugged Ruby tighter, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked.

Joey checked on the food and began pouring drinks for the three of them.

"Geoff broke up with me," Ruby sobbed as Charlie guided her onto the bench that served as the chairs for Joey's modest kitchen table.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Charlie said. "What happened?"

"Things haven't been right since the riot," Ruby said, rubbing her eyes.

Joey came to sit with them.

"He's been really snappy with me and..."

She sighed heavily.

"Do I need to kill him?" Charlie asked, almost seriously.

Ruby managed to crack a smile and shook her head.

"Maim him?" Charlie asked. "I could do that."

Mother and daughter smiled at each other and hugged again.

"He said that he wants to go and pursue his missionary work," Ruby explained. "He said that he's let his ambitions lay to waste and that he loves me but that he can't stay."

She sighed heavily.

"I ran into Joey at the Diner and she invited me to come for dinner," the teenager said. "I think it was meant to be a romantic thing but she said I wasn't imposing. Am I imposing?"

"Of course not," Charlie said honestly. "We'd love you to stay."

"See?" Joey said with a grin.

Ruby fell against Charlie again, burying her face in her shoulder and taking all the comfort from her that she could. Charlie hugged her close and gazed at Joey, mouthing 'thank you' at her. Joey smiled and got back to her cooking.

* * *

Half an hour later, Charlie, Joey and Ruby were sitting on deck together enjoying the meal that Joey had prepared. Charlie had reluctantly agreed to let Ruby have a very small glass of wine with her meal and Joey had invited Ruby to stay the night on her sofa bed.

"It's amazing how much a person can change in a few short weeks, you know," Ruby mused.

Charlie and Joey both looked at her.

"Well, despite your best efforts to keep up appearances, looking back now, it's clear you haven't been happy for a long time, Charlie. And then Joey comes back and you're all cute and besotted."

Charlie blushed and merely commented that someone was feeling more cheerful. Ruby grinned at her. Charlie continued to blush. Joey smiled, touched that her presence in Charlie's life seemed to mean so much.

"Well, to be honest, I think I'm pretty unrecognisable to how I was," Joey admitted. "I mean, I've been mostly alone for the past few months but I've even been driving myself crazy."

Ruby giggled.

"How _have _you been?" she asked.

"Put it this way, I don't think a single day passed since I left without thinking about Charlie," Joey revealed. "And I'd tried to come and see her so many times. I made the same journey over and over again, only ever getting as far as the island and then turning back."

Charlie reached out for her girlfriend's hand.

"I thought it was cowardice at the time but considering what happened, I now like to call it destiny."

She grinned. Charlie squeezed her hand and then returned to her food.

"Well, I can safely say that I'm glad you came when you did," Ruby said. "I can't even imagine what I would have done if..."

She trailed off unhappily.

"Hey, we don't need to think about that," Charlie said gently. "I wasn't hurt too badly. I just turned ugly for a bit."

"You couldn't be ugly if you tried!" Joey said quickly.

Charlie blushed.

"Aw, look at you two," Ruby gushed. "So cute. You give me hope, even in light of the Geoff circumstances."

* * *

Later that night, with Ruby sleeping on the pull out bed in the lounge, Charlie and Joey retired to Joey's room. In bed, they fell happily into each other's arms.

"Thank you so much for tonight," Charlie whispered, kissing Joey tenderly on the mouth.

"For dinner? That wasn't anything special," Joey said modestly.

"For Ruby," Charlie said. "You were so lovely with her. You showed her so much love and concern."

"Well, I do love her," Joey said. "And I am concerned."

Charlie smiled and kissed her again.

"I really am the luckiest person in the world," she said, running her hand through Joey's hair. "I know I don't deserve you but..."

Joey silenced her with a kiss.

"Whatever we've done, wherever we've been and whatever we deserve... none of that matters," she said. "We've got each other and that's what counts."

Charlie smiled, happily accepting more kisses.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

A couple of weeks later, things had settled down a little and for that, Charlie was grateful. Angelo had stopped being horrible to her and work was much more bearable. And her home life was amazing. She loved leaving work at the end of the day, knowing that she would be spending time with Joey and also with Ruby. She and her daughter had reconnected and although Ruby was sad over Geoff, she was gallantly picking up the pieces. Charlie was secretly pleased to see a friendship developing again between Ruby and Xavier. Ruby's ex boyfriend had approached her anxiously and apologised sincerely for what his brother had done to her. Charlie thought it was sweet. It was hardly his fault that his older brother was so evil. And unlike with Angelo, Joey was making a real effort with Ruby. And it wasn't exactly difficult. The two got on like a house on fire. Charlie hadn't had such a nice time in ages than when the three of them were hanging out together.

Finishing her shift, Charlie headed out of the station towards her car with the intention of collecting Joey. They had arranged to go to the cinema and Charlie was not so secretly looking forward to much making out on the back row. She paused when she saw Angelo sitting in his car looking very serious. Hesitating for a moment, Charlie headed over and knocked on the window. He jumped in surprise and wound the window down.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked.

He rubbed his eyes and nodded. Charlie was worried.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"Are you sure? You don't look very well."

"I'm fine, Charlie," he said firmly.

"Okay," Charlie said, stepping back and deciding to leave him to it.

She turned back towards her car, pausing only when he called out to thank her for caring.

"Let me know if I can help," she said.

* * *

Joey was just getting changed in her bedroom when Charlie arrived. She got a thrill every time she stepped onto the boat, knowing that she was welcome to come and go as she liked. She had also recently taken the big step of giving Joey a permanent key to the house she shared with Leah and Ruby. Poking her head round the bedroom door, Charlie allowed herself to ogle Joey for a moment as she stood there in jeans and a black bra while trying to decide which top to wear.

"I'd vote for neither," Charlie smirked.

Joey looked up, startled. Putting the t-shirt down, she grinned and stepped closer to Charlie who immediately wrapped her arms around her.

"Perve," she teased, kissing Charlie's lips.

In one swift motion, Charlie nudged Joey backwards onto the bed. They bounced together, giggling and kissing. Charlie was quick to cup Joey's breast, teasing her. Joey moaned and wrapped her arms tightly around Charlie's neck. Charlie's hand worked its way round to Joey's back and she began struggling with her bra strap. Joey pulled back and tapped her on the nose.

"I just put this on!" she protested.

"And a very good job you did too," said Charlie. "Now, I'm taking it off."

She kissed her neck, running her tongue gently along her pulse point.

"We're going to miss the movie," Joey moaned.

Charlie succeeded in unhooking her bra and pulled it triumphantly off her. She sat up, straddling Joey's hips.

"Am I getting better or what?" she asked proudly.

Bra straps were something Charlie continually struggled with. Joey's expertise put her to shame. Topless, Joey lifted herself up onto her elbows, gazing at Charlie's face.

"You get better every single day," she said.

Charlie leant forward, closing the gap between them, taking her breath away with another kiss.

* * *

The following morning, Joey was more than a little reluctant to get out of bed. She and Charlie had arrived a bit late for the film but fortunately not late enough to not get in. And they'd watched almost half of it. The other half had been spent making out. Joey felt like a naughty, horny teenager and she was elated at this opportunity to be like this with Charlie. Gone was the woman who was anxious, ashamed and afraid to be with her anywhere but behind closed doors. Charlie held her hand in public, kissed her whenever she fancied it and was now apparently willing to do all sorts of mischievous things in the back of a cinema. It definitely made Joey happy. And she was glad that for all their rush of physical excitement, the heart of their relationship hadn't been lost. Their intimacy had always been based in gentleness and emotional closeness. They had shared their hearts with each other long before they'd shared their bodies. And while they were currently very tactile, and had thus had very little sleep the night before, they were also continuing to share their souls with each other. Joey had felt sorry for Charlie having to get up so early that morning and face a day at work. And she knew she should follow suit. Irene's trawler would be receiving permission to set sail any day now and she and Aden were still fixing it up after it had been laying to waste for so many months. It was almost done but there was still a little way to go. Taking a deep breath, Joey forced herself to get up and washed, ready to start the day.

* * *

Forty five minutes later, Joey was heading down to the trawler. She smiled when she saw Aden in the distance. Hopping on board, she looked out and waited for her friend and colleague. One of the many things that made her glad to be back in the Bay was Aden Jeffries. He had supported her through so many things and she felt awful for not having seen him get married and not having supported him through Belle's death. She was glad that he was slowly starting to move on with Nicole, someone that Joey had always thought a lot of. Looking out at the Bay, Joey suddenly paused. She could swear that in the distance, she could see Angelo talking very intimately with a woman she vaguely recognised. However, she couldn't place where she knew her from. Aden appeared beside her.

"What's so interesting?" he asked.

"Who's Angelo talking to?" Joey asked.

Aden looked and then froze.

"I think that's Suzy something or other," he said.

Joey looked blank. She didn't recognise the name so she had no idea why she thought she recognised the woman.

"She's Hugo's wife or business associate or both," Aden said. "It was after she showed up here last year that everything seemed to kick off. You know... with everything."

"The human trafficking stuff?" Joey asked.

She pictured poor Charlie, broken and burnt on the beach, thinking she was dying. Her heart still surged at the thought. Aden nodded.

"He doesn't look like he's arresting her," he realised as they watched the conversation continue.

Joey pulled out her phone to call Charlie.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five**

Charlie approached Watson and cautiously took her to one side.

"What's up, boss?" the Constable asked.

Charlie led the way into her office and shut the door.

"I've just had a tip off," Charlie told her. "I don't know exactly what it means, if anything, but I need help following it up."

"What do you need me to do?" Watson asked.

She trusted Charlie and she was prepared to do almost anything that was required of her. And she for one had been horrified that Angelo had been granted such a drastic promotion over her friend.

"I need you to come out with me to keep tabs on someone," Charlie said. "On Angelo."

"Angelo?" Watson asked with a raised eyebrow.

Charlie nodded, begging her to keep it all quiet.

"Sure," Watson said. "Sure. Now?"

Charlie nodded and led the way out of her office.

* * *

Joey phoned Charlie again when she saw Angelo climb into a boat with Suzy. She and Aden had remained at the docks, unsure of how involved they ought to be getting. They just hoped that Charlie would get there soon and find out what was going on. Whatever the case, it did not look good for Angelo.

* * *

Charlie hung up from Joey, wondering what they ought to do next. Angelo was out at sea and fast disappearing. They needed to catch up with him sooner rather than later.

"There's the police boat down at the docks that we could follow in," Watson said.

"Do you know how to sail?" Charlie asked. "Because I sure don't."

Watson shook her head.

"Maybe we need to get a proper team onto this," she suggested.

The two of them hunting Angelo down brought back some painful memories for both of them. Charlie was desperate for Angelo to be innocent. But the evidence was pointing the wrong way.

"What else are going to do?" Watson asked.

"Break the rules," Charlie decided, phoning Joey again.

* * *

Angelo felt tense as Suzy took them out towards the island. He was nervous. This time a fortnight ago, he had been making it his mission to bring the human trafficking ring down and now he found himself working with them. He still wasn't entirely sure how it had happened. Just as with the development site, he'd been sucked in and was now out of his depth. He'd come back to Summer Bay to work on the case in order to redeem himself. And for a while there, he'd thought he would really succeed. He'd come so close to laying Jack's ghost to rest and the community had been starting to accept him again. Charlie had been a huge part of that. But it seemed that losing her was the beginning of losing everything. While he'd shot up the ranks at work, he'd lost his girlfriend and he'd killed another man. While Hugo had made him sick to his stomach and he hadn't felt even nearly as guilty about shooting him as he had over shooting Jack, it had cost him a lot. Despite him being labelled as the face of evil, Martha had loved Hugo and now she was grieving for yet another partner. Without either her or Charlie on side, everyone else had turned against him. When he'd seen Suzy hanging around a couple of days ago, he'd charged over in a bid to arrest her. But now he was here, working for her instead of against her. He was letting go of his morals and if the truth came out, he knew he didn't have a hope in hell of regaining any friends. However, what he could gain was enough cash to take off and start again somewhere new.

"What's going on?" Suzy suddenly demanded.

Angelo looked up and realised that they were being tailed by a familiar boat. He swallowed.

"You've set me up!" Suzy accused.

"No," Angelo protested.

Without slowing down, she pulled out a gun, aiming it directly at Angelo's head.


	26. Chapter 26

_This is your penultimate chapter. Just one more and then IJKS will begin posting a new fic called Return to Sender, set after Joey's departure from the Bay. Hope you enjoy the chapter! xxx_

**Chapter Twenty Six**

Angelo leapt off the boat, crashing into the water without any dignity as the shot rang in his ears. Suzy sped quickly away. Joey, whom Charlie had enlisted to drive the boat, pulled up beside Sergeant Rosetta. Charlie and Watson yanked their sputtering colleague out of the water and dumped him on the floor of the boat without any politeness. He coughed and shook his head, trying to regulate his breathing.

"Charlie, what do you want me to do?" Joey asked.

"Take us back," Charlie said.

They could go after Suzy another time. For now, going after her would be too much for just two officers to handle. They needed a bigger team and more time. Joey nodded, offering her girlfriend a sweet smile and turned the boat around, ready to head back to Summer Bay. Charlie pulled Angelo to his feet.

"What the hell are you playing at?" she demanded.

"Me?" Angelo snapped. "Letting a civilian operate a police vehicle? You'll be on report for this."

Charlie snorted with indignation.

"I think that's the least of our problems, Angelo," she said. "What were you doing with Suzy?"

"Trying to arrest her!" Angelo lied.

"Really?" Charlie quizzed him. "Because it really didn't look like that to me."

Angelo tried to read her but Charlie's face was a blank canvas. It was a skill that he knew would always make her a better cop than him, no matter how hard he tried.

"How did you end up out here?" Charlie demanded.

"She dragged me," he replied.

"Again, it didn't look like that to me," Charlie said.

Joey glanced at her but remained silent. She'd seen Charlie in cop mode many a time but usually when she had been dealing with her as a victim. She had to admit that Charlie dragging Angelo over the coals was hot. And she intended on letting her know later.

"What are you trying to say?" Angelo asked.

"I'm saying you're a bent cop," Charlie said.

"Says you!" Angelo remarked.

Charlie kicked him. Joey giggled quietly as Angelo clutched his groin and winced.

"You fucking bitch!" Angelo complained. "Now you'll be on assault charges!"

"How?" Watson asked. "You don't have any witnesses willing to back up your story."

Charlie grinned at her. Joey smiled too and focussed on getting them safely to shore.

"And you're going to be up on so many more charges than that, I don't think you need to worry about my welfare," Charlie said.

Watson pulled out her handcuffs and slapped them unceremoniously on Angelo's wrists.

"What do you think I've done?" Angelo asked.

"We're arresting you for being involved in human trafficking," Charlie replied.

* * *

It had been a long day and Charlie was glad when she was finally allowed to go home. She'd tirelessly interrogated Angelo who had been adamantly stating 'no comment' for the entire time. She didn't know who had suffered the most – him or her. Watson had taken Joey and Aden's witness statement about the conversation Angelo had had with Suzy and having accessed his phone records, it looked like he'd become heavily involved in the gang he'd tried to bring down in recent weeks. Charlie felt sick about it and as if she didn't even know him anymore. What had he been thinking? He'd worked so hard to put an end to the terrible misdeeds. It had cost Hugo his life. And then he had thrown it all away. What for?

Pulling up into the drive, Charlie was glad to get home. She was even gladder when she arrived in the lounge and found Joey watching television with Ruby.

"Hey," she greeted warmly. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight."

"Do you mind?" Joey asked.

"What? Of course I don't!" Charlie said.

Joey grinned and welcomed Charlie into her arms. They kissed. It was meant to be chaste but quickly developed.

"Get a room!" Ruby squeaked.

They pulled away and apologised.

"So, you arrested Angelo?" Ruby asked.

Charlie sighed and nodded.

"I think he's involved in the human trafficking," she said. "The evidence is pretty damning anyway."

"Like, from the start?" Ruby wondered.

Charlie shook her head.

"I think it's a recent thing," she said. "I don't know. It's probably all my fault anyway."

Ruby and Joey both stared at her with their mouths open. Charlie shifted a little in Joey's lap.

"I just... I think he got involved because he felt like he didn't have anything left," she explained. "Everyone hates him. Even with Hugo being a bad guy, people like Martha and Alf and Hugo's family... they hate Angelo for killing him. And he said to me before that all he had to hold onto was me. And we're not together anymore and..."

"Charlie, whether you hurt his feelings or his pride or whatever, is irrelevant," Ruby said firmly. "You can't stay with someone if you don't love them. Especially when you've been given one last chance to be with the person you really love."

She smiled at Joey who smiled back.

"And regardless of his reasons, Angelo has to take responsibility for his actions. I used to like the guy. I accepted that he was part of our lives for a while there. But if I'm honest, I'm glad you've split up and I'm definitely glad you and Joey are back together. Angelo has got away with a hell of a lot and it's about time he started paying for his crimes."

Charlie couldn't help but feel proud of her strong minded daughter.

"I'm glad you're happier about things," she said.

"How could I not be?" Ruby asked. "I'm not blaming you, but you kind of disappeared on me for a while there. Things were awkward because of... you know, everything and Angelo used that to steal your time. Even when things were easier for us, I hardly got to see you."

"Sorry," Charlie said quickly.

"It doesn't matter," Ruby told her. "Because it doesn't happen anymore. You and Joey are awesome together and I like that you include me in stuff. It makes me feel like we're a family. Granted, I never thought I'd have two Mums but hey, it works for me!"

She grinned. Charlie and Joey grinned back.

"Well, Nicole invited me out to the Surf Club to cheer me up over Geoff tonight. Is that okay?"

"It's fine," Charlie said.

Ruby stood, hugged Charlie and Joey both and then disappeared.

* * *

Later that evening, Charlie and Joey were in their room.

"Charlie?" Joey asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her girlfriend take her make up off at the dressing table.

"Mmm?"

Joey gazed at Charlie's reflection for a few moments, captivated by her natural beauty. Charlie looked at her in the mirror.  
"Joey?"

"Sorry. Um... you're not regretting anything, are you?"

Charlie turned around in her seat, looking confused.

"What do you mean?"

"About us? I know you're hurting over Angelo. It doesn't mean...?"

"It doesn't mean anything except that I wasn't prepared for him to turn out this way, to get involved in this kind of thing," Charlie confirmed. "I love you, Joey and there is no way I'm going to lose you again. Not for anything."

Joey smiled. Charlie leant closer and kissed her.

"That's good," Joey murmured between kisses.

Charlie ran her fingers up and down Joey's spine.

"That's really, really good," Joey moaned as they tumbled back on the bed together.

Charlie moved her lips down to Joey's neck and her hands began to tease.

"You know it was pretty damn hot watching you work today," Joey moaned, gazing up at the ceiling as Charlie began to made delightful strokes up and down her body.

Charlie shifted to look Joey in the eye, a smile twitching the corner of her mouth.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," Charlie confirmed. "I certainly wouldn't object if you wanted to arrest me one day..."

The two women smirked at each other.

"How about tonight?" Charlie suggested.

Joey nodded eagerly and informed her that she'd been very bad and thoroughly deserved anything Charlie had to offer.


	27. Chapter 27

_Welcome to the last chapter of this story where we're wrapping up some loose ends and moving on. Hope you enjoyed the story. xxx_

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

A fortnight later, life in Summer Bay had changed somewhat dramatically. Angelo had stubbornly refused to talk. When Charlie had presented him with her evidence that he was in on the human trafficking scam, he'd insisted that he had been merely intending on bringing the ring down through any means necessary. He'd claimed to have been double bluffing them, working on the inside in order to destroy them and bring them to justice. It was almost a credible story but then they'd managed to arrest Suzy who had informed them that Angelo had approached her in order to join in on the deal to get some quick cash and then get out of town. He'd stuck to his story, although struggled a little when he'd been questioned over why he hadn't let anyone in on what he was planning. That was what had got him into all this trouble in the first place. If he hadn't been messing around at the development site, switching soil samples and telling lies, Jack would never have got suspicious and followed him down there. Then Jack wouldn't have died and Angelo wouldn't have been bailed out of a murder charge.

"Boss, Angelo has requested to talk to you," Watson said, poking her head round Charlie's office door.

"Really?" Charlie asked in surprise.

Watson nodded and said that they'd requested that she go over to the prison as soon as possible.

"You ready?" Charlie asked.

"Me?"

"You're my second in command, aren't you?" the newly appointed Sergeant asked with a grin.

One thing was for certain and that was that work hadn't held Charlie responsible for anything that had been going on of late. While Angelo was being held, pending trial for his involvement in human trafficking, perverting the course of justice and for the deaths of both Jack Holden and Hugo Austin – Charlie had been promoted in his place. One of her first priorities had been to promote Watson to Senior Constable.

* * *

Half an hour later, Charlie and Watson were waiting in a private room for Angelo. He appeared, looking unshaven and unhappy. Sinking into a chair, he informed them that he had nothing left to lose and was prepared to talk.

"Go for it," Charlie said.

"I've got no friends or family left," he said. "You've moved on so quickly that I'm surprised you remember my damn name."

He glared at her. She glared back.

"And that's why I did it," he said.

"Did what exactly?"

"Got involved with Suzy," he explained. "I had nothing left. All I wanted to do was make some quick cash and get out of Summer Bay as quickly as possible."

"You know, most people would take out a loan or something," Charlie pointed out. "They don't resort to exploiting innocent people desperate to make a better life for themselves."

"And it's something that will be on my conscience," he agreed. "But I hope it's on yours too."

"Mine?"

"Like I said, you drove me to it," he told her. "Do you know how painful it was seeing you draped over that bitch all the time? Totally forgetting about me? I was getting ready to ask you to move in with me and then you dumped me. Just like that."

"This interview isn't to discuss personal problems," Charlie said, keeping a professional distance. "It's to deal with the crimes you've committed."

But she took his comments to heart.

* * *

That evening, Charlie arrived home, feeling miserable. But at least home was a happy place these days. Ruby was firmly back in the fold and Joey was around a lot. She and Charlie divided their nights between the house and Joey's boat. For a woman who had never been much into the idea of sailing, the police officer very much liked spending time on the _Charlie_. She didn't have a very good memory of Joey's rescue operation but she had flashes of it and she saw the vessel as a place of safety and peace. Joey was so happy on it, which was the only thing stopping Charlie from suggesting they move in together. Three people living on a boat that size just wouldn't work and Charlie didn't want to take Joey away from something she loved so much. So, for now, she was happy to spend nights there and have Joey spend nights with her too.

Walking into the lounge, she found Joey having a coffee with Leah.

"Oh hey, I thought you'd be home earlier," Joey explained.

Charlie smiled and sat next to her, explaining that she'd been called to the prison to get Angelo's long awaited confession. Joey immediately put her arm around her and asked if she was okay.

"It was hard," Charlie admitted. "Really hard."

"What did he say?" Leah asked.

Charlie sighed heavily and collapsed against Joey.

"He blamed me for everything," she said sadly. "He said that because I broke up with him, he didn't have anything left and..."

"Hold it right there," Joey interrupted, placing her index finger on Charlie's lips. "Whatever he said or did or blamed you for, let it go. Nobody can be responsible for someone else's actions. He made the decision to break the law. He made the decision to generally be an arsehole. Not you. It's not your fault."

* * *

It was a couple of weeks later and Charlie was just starting to feel better about everything. Charlie and Joey were walking back from dinner at the Diner, hand in hand on a warm Friday night. Things were going better at work, although Charlie was dreading having to testify against Angelo in court. And Joey's world was going from strength to strength. She and Aden had kick started Irene's business again and made a good team. She had more than made up for not being around for her friend when he had lost Belle and was supportive of his new relationship with Nicole.

"Charlie?" Joey ventured.

Her girlfriend couldn't help but smile. The tone Joey was using usually meant that something interesting was going to happen.

"Yes?" she said.

Joey stopped walking and moved in front of her, taking hold of both her hands. Charlie was instantly captivated by just how stunning Joey looked in the moonlight.

"Say no if you want," Joey said. "And if you do, it's not a problem. It won't change anything at all. We won't argue. I won't object. Because your happiness means more to me than anything..."

Charlie smiled.

"Say no to what?" she asked.

"Oh!" Joey laughed, realising she hadn't actually offered her suggestion yet.

She took a deep breath.

"Okay, well, I was wondering what you thought of moving in together."

Joey chewed her lip as she waited for some kind of answer. Charlie stared at her.

"Move in together?" she asked.

Joey nodded.

"It's okay if you don't want to," she said. "I was just putting it out there."

"I'd love to," Charlie said honestly.

"You would?"

"But..."

"Oh."

Joey was flooded with disappointment.

"I couldn't leave Ruby," Charlie said. "And there wouldn't be room for all three of us on the boat."

She was finally getting the opportunity to be a mother to her daughter. Ruby was dating Xavier again, having said goodbye to Geoff who had left Summer Bay to become a missionary. Their lives were starting to fit back together again.

"Oh, well, I wasn't expecting us to all cram on there," she said. "I thought maybe we could rent an apartment or something. I mean, we could even buy if you wanted to. I've got enough. And you're on a good wage. Is that too much?"

She squeezed Charlie's hands a little too tightly with nerves. Charlie smiled and kissed Joey's knuckles.

"I'd love to buy an apartment with you," she said. "And Ruby too?"

"Of course!"

"What about the boat?" Charlie asked.

"Well, I'll keep her. I love her. She's got me through some really tough times. And you know how much I've always wanted a boat of my own. But I don't need to live on her."

"You don't? Because I was thinking of suggesting this myself but I didn't think you'd want to move."

"Charlie, I've been on the boat for a while. And I've needed that freedom... you know, to up and leave whenever necessary. But I don't need to do that now, do I? I'm happy here. I'm settled and I want to stay. This is my home. With you."

She smiled a little shyly at her girlfriend who smiled back, leaning in to kiss her.

"That is pretty much the most perfect thing you could have ever said," she told her. "And you are definitely my home."


End file.
